PawedCast Episode 475: Atlanta Rewind, OCB-NYRB II, Chicago Preview, and More

Orlando City finally found its scoring boots late in the first half on Saturday. After a cagey, cautious opening half hour, the Lions started creating chances — one of which led to a penalty kick, which Luis Muriel buried. From there, the Lions went on to score twice after halftime (and it could have been more) in a thorough 3-0 win over rival Atlanta United. The Five Stripes rarely threatened Pedro Gallese's penalty area, let alone his goal. We looked back at the key moments in the match, check in our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Man of the Match. We're just happy Orlando City finished the game with all 11 players on the field and that it wasn't another scoreless draw, but a win over a rival is a serious amount of icing on the cake. The mailbagbox asks about young players scoring for Orlando City, what's changed for the team in recent weeks, the USMNT, and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag. OCB got a lot of regular players back but the defense was even more leaky against New York Red Bulls II than it was against Inter Miami II last week. The Young Lions are not communicating or executing effectively in their own end, although they continue to put the ball in the net. They missed a couple of chances to get more out of what ultimately became a 4-2 loss, but some of the finishing was missing and the defense was a problem all night. Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City's visit to Chicago to play the Fire on Saturday. We dissect the series history between the two clubs, provide our key matchups that we think will decide the game, and try to predict the final score of the match. We'll check on how we did early next week, as we look to move into our first two-episode week of the 2025 season. Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we'll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show. Here’s how No. 475 went down: 0:15 – The Lions managed to keep their fourth consecutive clean sheet and this time there was no sacrifice at the offensive end, with Orlando City ultimately dominating Atlanta. 20:34– The mailbagbox is interested in the changes in Orlando City's fortunes. 41:23 - OCB spent most of Sunday night getting caught in NYRB II traps, and the Lions head to the Windy City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices