José Andrés Martínez’s miracle goal steals a 2-2 tie for the Union at Orlando City

A stunning 90th-minute goal by José Andrés Martínez saved a 2-2 tie for the Union at Orlando City on Wednesday.

Orlando’s Duncan McGuire and Martín Ojeda scored the game’s first two goals, but the Union rallied with long-range hits by Jack McGlynn and Martínez — the latter’s first goal in 103 games here — to steal a point.

As expected, the Union (9-5-4, 31 points) returned to their traditional 4-4-2 diamond setup to start the game. Jakob Glesnes and Jack Elliot were the centerbacks, with Kai Wagner and Olivier Mbaizo at the outside spots. Jack McGlynn and Leon Flach started in the central spots, Jose Andrés Martínez anchored, and Joaquín Torres made his first start in over a month as the attacking midfielder.

Torres started because Dániel Gazdag was on his way back from Hungary’s national team. Orlando also had players away with national teams, notably goalkeeper Pedro Gallese (Peru) and star forward Facundo Torres (Uruguay).

But the Lions (7-5-6, 27 points) weren’t short at forward overall and that showed on their first goal.

» READ MORE: The Union return to action with three key players missing

McGuire wasn’t well-known when Orlando picked him at No. 6 overall in last December’s college draft. But the 6-foot-1 22-year-old has made quite an impression as a rookie. His early goal was his sixth of the season, and it was a show of skill and physicality.

After positioning himself in a gap in the Union’s defense to receive a nifty backheeled pass from Martín Ojeda, McGuire slid to keep Jakob Glesnes from stealing the ball, then raced away to rip an unstoppable shot past Union goalkeeper Joe Bendik.

At halftime, Orlando had five shots to the Union’s three, and all of the home team’s attempts were pretty good. Three were on target, and the other two were blocked. The possession was 50-50, which doesn’t often happen in Union games. But possession is only as good as what you do with it, which why the Union don’t always prioritize it.

Orlando goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar made two big-time saves early in the second half, one on each of the Union’s leading strikers.

In the 48th minute, Glesnes sprung Mikael Uhre free with a great floated pass over the Lions’ back line. But Stajduhar charged off his line and got his hands on the ball before Uhre could shoot.

Four minutes later, Stajduhar dove to swat away a Julián Carranza shot from close range that seemed destined for the net, but Stajduhar got his hands to it.

Naturally, Orlando scored barely two minutes after that. Iván Angulo exploited a hole in the center of midfield and fed Ojeda, whose shot hit McGuire’s outstretched leg and spun past Bendik.

» READ MORE: Wrexham AFC is coming to Philadelphia to play the Union's reserve team

McGlynn’s goal was fluky, but the way the game was going, he wasn’t going to complain. In the 60th minute, he floated a cross in from some 25 yards on the right wing, and it kept going right over Stajduhar and into the net.

In the 65th, Union manager Jim Curtin made his first substitution of the night, bringing captain Alejandro Bedoya back to action after six games out injured. He replaced Torres, who didn’t contribute much: 23 touches, 12-of-15 passing, just one pass into the attacking third, one shot, and four defensive recoveries.

Orlando manager Oscar Pareja responded with a double-switch, sending in Rodrigo Schlegel for Kyle Smith on the back line and Dan Thorhallsson for Ojeda in midfield.

More subs came in the 74th: Quinn Sullivan replaced Leon Flach and Nathan Harriel replaced Olivier Mbaizo for the Union, and Ramiro Enrique replaced Ojeda for Orlando. McGuire and Gastón González exited in the 80th for Ercan Kara and Rafael Santos as Pareja pushed his team for another goal.

That goal appeared to come in the 86th when Kara and Angulo teamed up to push the ball down the field and into the net. But the play was disallowed on video review for a clear foul in the buildup.

It’s not the first time Martínez has taken a shot from long range. He has done it more times than anyone can count at this point. But it’s the first time one of those shots went in, and it was an outrageous strike: hit so hard that it almost stayed flat as it flew the 35 yards from Martínez’s right foot to the goal line.

Until the hit, the play seemed innocuous. Kai Wagner hit a routine cross in search of a target and Antonio Carlos headed it out. The loose ball went to Martínez, and then made its way into the Union’s history books.

Orlando nearly won the game again in the 95th minute when Enrique curled an open shot off the crossbar. And the Union could have won it in the 96th when Harriel crossed to Uhre and he put a backheel flick off the crossbar under pressure from Mauricio Pereira.

» READ MORE: Kai Wagner is having another great season, but it could be his last with the Union