Orlando City vs Toronto FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

Orlando City snapped its meager one-game winning “streak” in absolutely horrific fashion, being taken to the woodshed by an under-powered Toronto FC. The Lions are now 0-2 against Toronto and get one more chance in two weeks’ time to avenge both upsetting defeats.

In a game like this there can’t be too much said that would come in the way of positives. There was a lack of energy, a lack of form and, below all else, a lack of fight.

Here are our player grades and our Man of the Match from tonight’s game:

Starters

G, Tally Hall, 6.0 — It is hard to blame Tally for all that transpired tonight when a team lets 21 shots fly. We can pick and choose and say he should have come out quicker on Giovinco’s last goal or maybe positioned the wall better on his free kick, but what can you do when your team is trampled all night?

D, Corey Ashe, 6.5 — Corey played well for his time on the pitch, being subbed in the 62nd. He took space when it was there and his through ball early in the first sent Cyle Larin running in on Toronto’s keeper all alone. There was a slight injury scare to his hand and we are hopeful that all is right in that realm as nobody wants Orlando to lose another player to injury.

D, Seb Hines, 5.0 — Not much can be said about a center back tandem that was thoroughly thrashed all night, except our team was beat 57-38 on duels. Hines started off the night early with a well deserved yellow card and played hesitant the rest of the night while the “Atomic Ant” was all over the back line and could have possibly had four or five goals. Can anyone say “David Mateos?”

D, Aurelien Collin, 6.0 — If Hines played hesitant after his deserved yellow, Collin was the complete opposite after giving up the penalty. I was surprised to see him get away card free with the challenge on Giovinco, who went down with a foot drag, but he continued to get into the mix all night. Now, do not take that as he was getting into the mix and doing a good job of it — he was continually making bad passes and had some bad giveaways that could have led to more goals.

D, Tyler Turner, 5.5 — The problem with Turner is that he is just too young, he plays like he is waiting for something to happen rather than being proactive and making things happen. He was beat on the flank by Giovinco all night, but so was everyone else. It was always going to be a tough task for a 19-year-old, and he proved his age continually tonight. His youthful giveaway up field led to Toronto’s counter that resulted in the penalty to open the scoring. He also turned the ball to concede possession just prior to the second goal.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 6.0 — Higuita was not himself tonight. Even though he covered ground well, his passes were off the mark and the midfield was dominated from the start. A positive, he had the assist on Luke Boden’s wonderfully taken goal.

MF, Darwin Ceren, 5.5 — When people ask who the unsung hero of Orlando has been all year I always fall back on Ceren. He has probably been the most consistent performer for the Lions all year. Well, tonight was not the case. His constant buzzing and strong tackles, especially the one on Giovinco in the first half showed his fight, but I felt like he was the only one out there willing to put it all on the line. His passing didn’t play up to his motor, as he was continually off the mark. His foul early in the second half drew a yellow card and led to Giovinco’s free kick goal.

MF, Servando Carrasco, 4.5 — It is really hard to rate a player that you only saw a few times throughout the entire 90 minutes. Honestly, did Carrasco play tonight or was Alex Morgan somewhere in the stands? Maybe they were engaged in a good conversation. After showing signs of being a good addition against Columbus, where he moved the ball from side to side so well, Carrasco was a shadow of that player tonight. Seriously, I think his shadow was playing tonight.

MF, Luke Boden, 7.0 (Man of the Match)— Somebody has to get it right, so why not the guy with the only goal? Boden has been a bright spot over the past two matches and tonight, even though all of Orlando may not have gotten off the plane to play in Toronto, Luke was there and had a decent go at it. Congrats Luke, you got Man of the Match with a well struck goal.

MF, Eric Avila, 5.0 — Eric was not playing soccer (or football) tonight. Oh, you wanted analysis; giveaway, giveaway, giveaway, not covering the back post…

F, Cyle Larin, 6.0 — With a chance to break the MLS rookie record tonight of 11 goals in a season, Cyle is leaving Canada with “only” scoring five goals in the past three games. He had a few good chances and kept making nice runs until the 70th minute, when he seemed to tire. His first look may have been the only one he should have put in the back of the net, but I can’t blame a guy who has been so “en fuego” that we stopped really shopping for forwards…or did we?

Substitutes

F, Pedro Ribeiro (62′), 6.0 — Didn’t do much. Showed nice touch, that he can play with his back to the goal, and that he is slower than a…well, OK, he just isn’t fast.

MF, Lewis Neal (62′), 6.0 — Lewis made his return from a nagging Achilles injury tonight — that is a good sign. His play however was always a bit off. He seemed to miss his touch tonight with the other nine field players (two being shadows) running around and he may need some extra time to get back into the swing of things.

Vote in our poll below and let us know who your Man of the Match was. This might be the least competitive poll we’ve had for MotM all season.

Polling Closed