Pasalic keen to move on quickly after Crew peg back Orlando

Mario Pasalic urged Orlando City to put their 1-1 draw with the Columbus Crew swiftly behind them.

Orlando looked set to frustrate the Crew on Sunday, until Diego Rossi popped up with a fine finish in the 80th minute at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.

The visitors had led from the 14th minute, when Pasalic rounded off a sweeping team move with a close-range strike.

However, that was Orlando’s only shot on target, as Columbus piled on the pressure. Maxime Crepeau stood tall, making some fine stops, but Rossi’s effort finally got the Crew back on level terms, marking the first time they have netted at home in MLS this season.

While frustrated, Pasalic does not feel Orlando should be too harsh on themselves.

He told club media: “We started really well. We hadn’t conceded a goal for 80 minutes, then we made the changes and that mistake happened, but it’s football.

“I’m happy that the team showed mentality today, that we showed that we can handle things after these big losses. And, I mean, on one side, I say this team didn’t deserve these losses in the past, so I’m not going to speak about it anymore.

“I look to the future, and we can connect the future games to this game today.”

Full time from Columbus. pic.twitter.com/jtK7LPA87k

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) April 13, 2026

Orlando went into the match as just the third team in MLS history to lose consecutive matches by a margin of five goals or more, joining the San Jose Earthquakes in 2020 and the New England Revolution in 2019, so steadying the ship was vital for coach Martin Perelman.

He said: “I think we came to a difficult stadium and we fought and the players did an amazing effort. Of course, we wanted to win, like always, but again, I want to highlight the effort of the players.”

The Crew, who lost attacker Wessam Abou Ali to a serious-looking injury, will feel they were at least worthy of a point, having had 20 shots to Orlando’s five, getting seven on target.

Their 1.54 expected goals, meanwhile, dwarfed Orlando’s 0.61.