My Florida Holiday 24th May- 8th June 2017 Part 9 - MLS Orlando City SC.

Orlando City v D. C. United.

Tonight I went to my third MLS match.

Welcome to Orlando City's new Stadium.

First a look in one of the little shops.   I bought a purple Orlando City bear.

O C bear.

My first views of the pitch.

The capacity of the stadium is 25,500.

There is a big storm at the moment so nobody is allowed to take their seats until the thunder and lightening passes.

The pitch is eight feet below ground level and has a variety of grass called Latitude 36 and is specifically created for hot and wet conditions.  It is grown locally where it is known as Bermuda grass.

The local TV company are doing their pre match hype.

There are lots and lots of places to buy food and drink, all around the stadium.

That's a lot of sauce!

You can eat your food overlooking the pitch

Can you see the 49 rainbow memorial seats in the west stand. 

My new pendant I was given free as I entered the stadium,  tied around my shoulders.

Behind me at the north end of the stadium is the all standing section.

For the first time, a major American sporting venue has an all-standing section as part of the North Stand. This safe-standing style was pioneered in Europe and was specifically requested of architects Populous by founding owner Phil Rawlins to reflect the Stoke City stadium of his youth, the Victoria Ground.

The 3,811-capacity section is geared purely for the main supporters' groups, the Iron Lion Firm and The Ruckus, who have dubbed their end of the ground "The Wall" — an homage to Borussia Dortmund's famous Yellow Wall.

Finally the storm has passed, but it's still pouring with rain typical Floridian rainy season.

Time to take our seats.

Here come the teams.

Time for the national anthem.

All 4 main stands are designed with metal canopy roofs that are designed to enhance and amplify the noise of the fans.  The gradient of the stands is at the maximum aloud in American stadiums of approx 33 degrees, this allows fans to be as close to the action as possible.

Come on City!

The first half was very close.

Second half.

Finally some goals.

66th minute - Cyle Larin
88th minute - Giles Barnes.

D C United had a few good chances of scoring.

One of the TV cameras.

The team benches.

Final score.  Orlando win 2- 0!

 The Wall end have let off lots of purple flares in celebration!

I really enjoyed the match

It's still raining, but very hot and humid!

Well done Orlando!

The review of the match in the local paper.

Cyle Larin fought through Steve Birnbaum's bear hug to head home Will Johnson's free kick in the 66th minute, Giles Barnes added a late strike from distance that squeezed through Bill Hamid's hands, and Orlando City SC completed a much-needed 2-0 victory over D.C. United on Wednesday night.


Larin's eighth goal of the season and Barnes' fourth of his career against D.C. snapped the Lions' six-match winless stretch and halted United's away unbeaten run at three matches.


D.C. had plenty of chances, coming closest when defender Jonathan Spector cleared Lamar Neagle's 75th-minute effort off the line.