A crowd of 7,933 descended upon the Citrus Bowl to watch Orlando City (1-1-0, 3 points) win their inaugural home opener on Saturday. The Lions did not disappoint as they controlled the later part of the first half and all of the second to win the game 3-0 against FC New York (0-1-0, 0 points). It is the Lions first win of the season. During the first 40 minutes, both teams were playing tough defense as the offenses struggled to find good looks. Multiple shots by the New York forwards along with Orlando's Jamie Watson sailed high and wide. Towards the end of the first half, though, Orlando took control. In the 43rd minute, Max Griffin of Orlando scooted past the NY defense after it temporarily broke down to score off the left side of the goal to score the first ever regular season goal for City. Right after the start of the second half, Orlando took control. In the 54th minute, Yordany Alvarez scored off of an initial Jamie Watson shot that was saved and rebounded by Lawrence Olum, who then passed it to Alvarez for the strike. Max Griffin wasn't done yet, as Lewis Neal crossed it to him in front of the goal in the 71st minute to notch his second score on the day. Griffin almost had a hat trick on the day, when in the 74th minute a strong shot set up by Neal sailed slightly right. The rest of the match was controlled by Orlando, as they notched their first win in the 2011 regular season. Head coach of Orlando City Adrian Heath was pleased about his team's improvement from the first game to the second along with the fan turnout. "I thought as the game was going on we gained more confidence, especially after the first goal by (Max) Griffin," said Heath. "We were a lot better than we were last week. I am really pleased with everyone connected with the club as well. The club has worked so hard to make our first home game a special night, which I told our players as a bit of inspiration. There was a great atmosphere tonight. They did their job, we needed to do ours. All in all, a good night." Be sure to get all of your news from OrlandoCitySoccer.com as the Lions prepare for their next match against the Charlotte Eagles in Charlotte on the 16th.
