Photo by Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports

By MIKE GRAMAJO

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando City SC had no Kaka, but a different Designated Player and an early arrival of Winter was enough to salvage the Lions’ playoff hopes Sunday.

Adrian Winter tallied twice and Bryan Rochez came off the bench to ensure the lead, as Orlando City defeated Sporting Kansas City, 3-1, in front of 22,241 in attendance at the Citrus Bowl.

Winter opened the scoring for Orlando City when Luke Boden’s free kick connected with the Swiss winger, as he headed the ball past Sporing KC goalkeeper Jon Kempin. Krisztian Nemeth equalized for the visitors in the early stages of the second half, but Orlando’s other DP Bryan Rochez scored the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute before Winter capped the scoring in the 71st minute.

“I thought we deserved the win,” Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath said. “We got New York to come, Montreal to come here, we got Chicago away and Philly, all the teams around us are all vying for that last [playoff] place. We’ll see where we go, but tonight gives us another chance”

Orlando City was without regular starters Kaka and Darwin Ceren after both succumbed to injuries during the most recent international break. Brek Shea, who was recovering from a surgical sports hernia, started on the bench.

Sporting KC almost found the equalizer in the 16th minute when Graham Zusi’s corner kick connected with Dom Dwyer, who headed the ball over the crossbar. Krisztian Nemeth’s long-range shot edged Sporting KC to a tie moments later.

However, the visitors’ efforts would not be enough. Dwyer also saw an early exit from the game when referee Jair Marrufo issued the former Orlando City loanee a straight red card in the 88th minute after a foul on David Mateos.

The Lions still sit outside the coveted last playoff spot despite being tied with the Montreal Impact with 32 points. The Impact have four games in-hand and occupy the last postseason spot, having one more win than Orlando.

Orlando City continues its playoff hunt when it visits the Chicago Fire on Sept. 19 at Toyota Park. Meanwhile, Sporting KC returns home to Sporting Park where it hosts FC Dallas on Friday.