Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Player Grades and Man of the Match

The tale of two halves. Orlando City got off to a slow start but responded well only to let the three points get away.

Here are the grades.

Starting XI

GK, Joe Bendik, 6.5 – He can’t be the hero every match. One bad clearance with his weak foot that led to a Union chance. The second goal he does well on the end line cross but puts the deflection in the dangerous area in front of goal. The save is a tough one but his back line wasn’t there to help him. Bendik responded with a big save to keep it 2-2 in the 80th minute on Herbers and again on a set piece.

RB, Kevin Alston, 6 – Decent first half. Made some good overlapping runs into dangerous spaces. The final ball was a little off tonight for Kevin. His fitness was an issue in the late minutes of the match, however, his defending was adequate and he wasn’t a liability on crosses.

CB, Tommy Redding, 7.5 – Solid match from the young center back, not much to complain about. He had a couple of fouls but nothing in a dangerous area. He had a few turnovers but recovered nicely from them. Played C.J. Sapong very physically and kept the Philadelphia striker quiet for the night. He and the whole back four were ball watching on the second goal.

CB, David Mateos, 4.5 – No one encompasses the tale of two halves more than Mateos. Had a great early clearance on a near post ball early in the first half. In the second half he started a counter by a well-timed tackle, but things turned sour when he lost Barnetta on his goal. Moments later, he had a bad foul that led to the dangerous set piece, and later on got away with a penalty in the 61st minute. The missed penalty caught up with him as he was sent off on a questionable call in stoppage time.

LB, Brek Shea, 4.5- Another match, another mediocre performance from the left back. Shea’s first touch left something to be desired. His sloppy touch led to an unnecessary corner that resulted in the second Union goal. He will continue to be this team’s left back as he does have his small moments of brilliance.

MF, Servando Carrasco, 6 – As the game went, so did Carrasco. The game ebbed and flowed and Carrasco’s play did as well. He was formidable in the defensive midfield, winning balls, but lost his cool later on in the match. He did well to occupy the space and keep the central midfield organized.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 5 – Above average defending and composure throughout the most of the night from Higuita. He had his one meltdown a game in the 89th minute as his yellow card will mean he will miss the New York City FC match. Higuita was a ball-winning machine in the defensive midfield. The problem with being a ball-winning machine is that when he did have the ball, he wasn’t doing well distributing it to his own team.

MF, Carlos Rivas, 2 – I am being terribly generous here. Rivas never seemed to be on the same page with anyone tonight. Lots of turnovers and his first touch was lacking. His foul set up the free kick on which Barnetta scored. His one moment in the 34th minute came when he helped to set up the Kaká PK. That really was it from the young Colombian. Adrian Heath had seen enough when he got an undisciplined yellow card. This will be a night Rivas will want to forget.

MF, Adrian Winter, 6 – An industrious 67 minutes from the midfielder tonight. Winter did his job like he does most nights — he possessed the ball well and made good runs between the midfield and the back line of Philadelphia. He wasn’t able to create many opportunities but sometimes keeping the ball and not turning the ball over is what this team needs.

MF, Kaká, 6.5 – Looked to get off to a weak start. The scouting report on his penalty taking ability caught up to him as he put the PK to the keeper’s right, and Andre Blake made the save. He became a different player with the addition of Molino and Baptista into the match. He had the worst passing percentage of the team tonight, which could be a result of his fitness in the final moments. Kaká played a part in both goals tonight with his services, so all was not bad for the captain.

F, Cyle Larin, 6.5 – Larin was pretty pedestrian in the first half. He was mostly an asset in defending, as he was key to breaking up Philly’s 54th-minute set piece. The Canadian international did well to hold balls through out the match. Finished the one chance that he was given and that is what you want from your starting striker.

Substitutions

MF, Julio Baptista (67′) 5 – Had a good chance off a cross that looked to be deflected wide. Baptista made some dangerous runs in the final third. His chemistry with Kaká and Molino helped to change the match.

MF, Kevin Molino (67′) 8.5 (MOTM) – His entrance to the game marked a turning point for Orlando as he brought the spark to the match. One of his first touches of the game, he finds the back of the net. I think that he would like the shot back in the 86′ minute that sailed over the bar. Aside from that it was a solid night for the Trinidadian and he really put Adrian Heath in a position to include him in the starting XI on Sunday.

FW, Hadji Barry (84′) N/A – Change of pace that was well needed as Larin started to run out of gas. His pace helped to set up a good opportunity late. Heath described him “as a little bit of an enigma still” which I couldn’t agree with more.

Lots of formidable play tonight from Orlando City to get the 2-2 draw and keep the unbeaten streak at Camping World Stadium in 2016. Let us know who you think is the Man of the Match and where your favorite Lion stacks up.

Polling Closed