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Orlando City Fans Deserve Better Than Sunday’s Embarrassing Performance

Published

8 years ago

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I’m not going to mince any words with this column and I purposely waited a couple of days to take the emotional element out of it. It’s long (at just over 1,400 words), so you may not read the entire thing, but it boils down to this: Orlando City’s effort on Sunday was not good enough and the club’s fans and supporter groups deserve better. I felt bad for each and every fan who spent their money to make the trip from Florida to Bridgeview, IL to watch whatever that was on Sunday.

It was the kind of performance that even the most diehard fans found difficult to watch. When you cheer for any sports team, you know going in that anything can happen in any given match and even for the best teams results are not guaranteed. Your team could win. Your team could draw. Your team could lose. Your team could even lose badly. You understand that is part of the deal with sports on any level. And even with bad teams, it’s usually fine.

For many years I went to old Cleveland Municipal Stadium and watched bad Indians teams get drubbed. I understood going in that our pitchers were going to give up runs, our hitters were going to leave runners in scoring position, and there would likely be a couple of major blunders in base-running, fielding, or both. That was just part of going to the park to watch the Tribe. I still went to games because that was my team and there was a decent chance that even in a lopsided loss I’d still see some memory-forming moment of magic, like a 460-foot home run from Joe Carter, or a two-hit gem from Greg Swindell (I once saw Swindell throw a one-hitter and lose the game). You could even see one of the team’s rare wins. But, win or lose, it was still an enjoyable day at the ballpark.

Sunday was nothing like that. Orlando City came out of the locker room against a team without its supporters groups, in a dead building that provided no boost to the home side, and did not play like a team that cared if it fell into dead last place in the division. Chicago was clearly the team trying to fight and claw for points and quickly jumped all over the Lions, taking the lead in the opening moments of the match and never looking all that threatened by Orlando City for the remainder of the 90 minutes.

Announcers John Strong and Stu Holden did not hold back in describing how little desire the lads in purple were showing on the pitch and you really couldn’t argue with anything they said. Less than 20 minutes in, they stopped talking about the events on the field nearly altogether to go off on a tangent about promotion/relegation systems. I felt bad for them having to call the game. I felt bad for myself and everyone else who had to endure watching it. I felt bad for my fellow staff writers who had to recap it or hand out player grades. It was embarrassing to the club, its fans, and the city of Orlando. I was live tweeting the match for The Mane Land and I couldn’t even get angry at the announcers for their comments.

It looked exactly like what Holden said. The players on the pitch had quit — perhaps not everyone, but certainly enough to ensure that victory was never going to be possible. Holden further talked about how some players had spoken to him about others with job security who weren’t willing to put out any effort. At the start of the second half, Strong was discussing the shadows on the Toyota Park field and said that part of the stadium was still in full sunshine, quipping that they’d show us that “if and when Orlando gets into the attacking third.”

Again, I couldn’t even get upset with the statement, because it had a ring of truth to it if you saw what was happening on the pitch.

The way this team has performed in recent weeks, it’s hard to imagine that James O’Connor will get any more victories on his resume this season due to a lack of effort on the pitch. That’s the one thing that is not acceptable and one has to wonder why anyone would bother going to Orlando City Stadium to watch this happen for the last three home matches if this is what they can expect.

The fans have stuck by this team through four miserable seasons, and each one has been worse than the one before. The fans deserve better and the people working hard in the Orlando City front office to sell tickets and advertising and run the day-to-day operations deserve better. And, as a former communications worker in professional sports, I particularly sympathize with the OCSC public relations staff this season. How the hell do you spin this season to the public — especially Sunday’s game?

Dom Dwyer was interviewed just before kickoff on the broadcast Sunday and specifically mentioned that the team needed to have a good showing for the supporters. The team failed, and did so spectacularly. While Dwyer was a part of the team on the field, I can’t say he was one of the ones who didn’t try. One good example of this came with just 16 minutes remaining and the team trailing, 4-0.

While it wasn’t Dwyer’s best game, and he’s missed three different 1-v-1 opportunities against the goalkeeper in the last two matches, he at least looks like he’s in the mood to play. Rookie Chris Mueller is another and perhaps captain Jonathan Spector. Aside from that, it was difficult to point to any other player on the field Sunday who looked like they gave a single damn about being out there. Again…unacceptable.

I’m not saying players didn’t care. I’m saying they sure didn’t make it obvious. The drive and commitment we’ve seen in the past, even from bad Lions MLS teams, was completely absent. There were a few individual moments where you saw a player look like he was putting in effort, but those were few and far between.

In the 2018 off-season, the front office invested heavily in veteran players. We were told at the start of the season that these were noted character guys, often from teams with winning cultures, who would turn things around. We were told the team had made small roster adjustments in the past, believing success wasn’t far away, but this past off-season the club took big swings to build the roster.

Fans are generally satisfied that the club is willing to spend money and assets to bring in pieces to build a winning team. However, no one can be satisfied with the way this season has gone and no one should be satisfied with the team’s performance on Sunday. It’s fair to ask serious and tough questions of a front office that has missed so badly in trying to assemble a team of high character and leadership if this is the product on the field.

This group of players — and I’m speaking of the team as a collective here while not knowing which individuals are truly part of the problem — has already gotten a veteran, Cup-winning coach fired this season. At that time, Orlando’s front office assured fans that the club believed in the roster and that finding the right coach to guide them should alleviate the problems. That did not happen. It turns out that it wasn’t just the coaching (and it rarely is when a team wins just once in 19 games). Think about how futile that is – one freakin’ win in 19 games!

The group on the field hasn’t seemed to put much effort into helping an interim manager or the club’s new head coach be successful. When the team looks like it has checked out for the season, can the fans be far behind? Even the most optimistic fan wants to watch players who try, or at least appear to be trying. Orlando’s fan base is as demanding as any. It wants to win, sure, but it absolutely requires effort. Evident, palpable, and noticeable effort.

For the majority of the 90 minutes at Toyota Park on Sunday, no such effort was on display and it was disgraceful. Orlando City’s supporters and staff, and the city itself, all deserve better.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

4 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

4 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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