Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire, Round 3: Player Grades and Man of the Match

For only the second time during this inaugural MLS season, Orlando City has back-to-back victories. Saturday night’s 1-0 win at Toyota Park marked the first road win by the Lions since they did it on the same field back on June 6. They followed that with a win over D.C. United on June 14 and that was the only other two-game MLS winning streak City has mustered this season.

The win allowed Orlando to stay within a point of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot on a night when all the other results went against the Lions. It also effectively ended Chicago’s faint playoff hopes.

Let’s get to tonight’s player ratings and Man of the Match:

Starters

GK, Tally Hall, 8 – Hall didn’t have a lot to do, but when he did have things to do, he was outstanding. Only four of Chicago’s 14 shots were on target but some of those were quality chances and the veteran keeper was there to earn the clean sheet. He also showed a lot of fire, getting into it with David Accam and Patrick Nyarko.

D, Luke Boden, 6 – A mostly good game for Bodz. He got turned inside out by Nyarko at one point, leading to a Chicago chance but he was fairly steady in defending and helped the team get forward up the left side. Worked well with Carlos Rivas.

D, Aurelien Collin, 7 – There is a fine partnership growing between Aurelien and David Mateos. Collin worked hard to help Rafael Ramos handle Chicago’s speed up the left wing, but was still able to help Mateos in the middle with Kennedy Igboananike. Had to resort to a shirt pull and got booked for it when he slipped trying to stop the speedy Chicago forward, but another solid night in defense for No. 78.

D, David Mateos, 8.5 (Man of the Match) – The Spaniard continues to improve with every MLS game. He was all over the field, winning everything in the air, slide tackling balls away from Chicago attackers and even got forward on an early free kick and got a header toward goal. Really helped Tally Hall control the box tonight and kept Chicago at bay.

D, Rafael Ramos, 6.5 – A lot of good things tonight for Rafa, although some of his final balls weren’t close to their targets. He got beaten more than once by the fast left flank Fire players but was usually able to recover OK. Forced to take a tactical yellow to prevent an Accam counter. Had to be warned about his temper once by the referee in the first half.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 7 – Another very strong outing by Higuita. If his passing in the attacking third was just a bit more accurate, he’d be the perfect defensive midfielder. Still, he continues to run for days, thumping the ball away from attacking players all over the pitch. His weakness and strength were on display in the 64^th minute when he gave the ball away cheaply but then hustled to get it back. Important clearance from behind in the 30^th may have saved a goal.

MF, Servando Carrasco, 6.5 – A second consecutive strong outing for Carrasco. We didn’t see the all-out effort to break up the attack like we did against Sporting KC, but that may have been more strategy, to force attackers wide rather than react aggressively and potentially get burned.

MF, Carlos Rivas, 6.5 – Was a danger man all night. Blasted a shot off the crossbar in the 18^th minute and fed in a number of good passes that Cyle Larin should probably have done more with. Left his feet too easily a couple times looking for a foul, but otherwise had a solid outing and used his speed well, including drawing a yellow card on Michael Stephens on a counter. More dangerous as a passer than a shooter on this night.

MF, Lewis Neal, 5.5 – A typical Lewis Neal outing. He did what he needed to do defensively in the middle of the pitch but his passing going forward left a lot to be desired. It seemed every time he got involved in the attack, he’d pass the ball to a Chicago defender.

MF, Adrian Winter, 5.5 – A good work rate from Winter, who tracked back well to help with Accam but he sometimes disappeared from the game for spells. Wasn’t very active in the offensive third after scoring two goals in the last game.

F, Cyle Larin, 5 – Ran as if he had more legs than last week vs. SKC, but did little with the ball. Received a perfect through ball from Rivas at 67′ but shot weakly right at Jon Busch. Missed the net completely just a minute later after Rivas found him again. Credit for getting into the right spots, but he needs to do more with his chances.

Substitutes

F, Bryan Rochez (71′), 7.5 – Scored the game-winner at 86′ just moments after a header forced a vital save from Jon Busch. He continues to present a danger late in games, although he does sometimes get knocked off the ball easily. Took two shots and got them both on frame.

MF, Brek Shea (71′), 7 – Once again, Shea came on as a substitute and made an impact for the Lions. In a surprise move, he played on the right side and changed the dynamic on that side. He did give away a silly free kick in the 76^th minute, but his presence changed the attack. Shot over the bar in the 81^st and then fed the ball in to Darwin Ceren that resulted in the Rochez goal. Two games back, two wins.

MF, Darwin Ceren (81′), 6.5 – Nine minutes isn’t a lot of time to leave a mark on the game, yet Ceren still managed to do so. He assisted on Rochez’s goal, pushed the ball forward playing an unfamiliar left wing position, and even drew a critical late foul as Orlando City tried to see the game out. Nice outing in his return from injury.

Polling Closed