Orlando City vs Toronto FC: Five Takeaways

Orlando loves to leave it late. Whether it’s a good result or a bad one, it always seems to be decided in the final 15 minutes of the match. Last night’s game saw Orlando City pulling out a nail biting victory after Julio Baptista went down in the 99th minute, and Kaká sealed the win with a penalty off the crossbar.

With the win, Orlando now moves back into the playoff picture and sits six points in back of the first-place Philadelphia Union with two games in hand. Not a bad situation for the boys in purple.

Now, on with our five takeaways from the match:

Kaká Back

Boy, what a difference it is to have the former world player of the year back on the field. While he wasn’t at 100%, Kaká definitely had an impact in Orlando’s attack, especially in the first half of the game. Not only did the offense look more fluid and dangerous, but Orlando was getting opportunities in the box that should have been capitalized on. The Lions had 17 shots on the night, with six of them on goal, Kaká had two of those six. The captain was also second on the team in touches, behind Cristian Higuita, and led the team in total shots. With a multitude of games coming up away from home in July, having Kaká back is key for this tough upcoming stretch.

Orlando’s Love/Hate Relationship With Stoppage Time (Again)

Man, this is just a recurring theme with Orlando City. Last week, this was one of my takeaways and it’s ever prevalent this week as well. Let’s just go in chronological order, shall we? Just as the game was set to hit the 90th minute, Justin Morrow scored Toronto’s equalizer. Then, through eight minutes of stoppage time, which seemed very lengthy, Julio Baptista managed to draw a penalty in the 99th minute. Kaká put the game away with his 100th-minute penalty kick, which is the latest penalty kick in MLS history. It is also tied for the latest goal in general in MLS history, with then-Houston Dynamo forward Dominic Oduro scoring in the 100th minute back in 2010. It could have ended much worse for the Lions, who came only seconds away from drawing their ninth game of the season. Instead, they come away with three points. This point that I had last week still remains true: “With tired legs and tired minds, both teams have equal chance to slip up and make mistakes and Orlando City just seems to be affected most by those moments.”

Molino Mania at it Again

Kevin Molino is good at soccer. I mean really goood. The Trinidadian looked like a man possessed at times during the match and really helped change the game. Not only did he chase after balls and dance around defenders, he also set up two of the three goals scored on the night. He is now tied with Kaká for the team lead in assists (5) and is two goals behind Cyle Larin for the team lead (6). Molino has also stepped up in the attack when Kaká has been out of the lineup and has done so admirably. To say that Molino Mania is running wild in Orlando may be a severe understatement to this point.

The Monsters in the Midfield Are Back

Last night marked the return of the second head of the two-headed monster. Darwin Céren was back in the starting lineup with his midfield partner Cristian Higuita and boy, did they play well together. While Céren still looked a bit rusty having been away from the lineup for a month or so, his and Higuita’s impact in the midfield was definitely felt throughout the game. Céren had the second best passing percentage on the team with 87% accuracy, while Higuita made key tackles on the ever dangerous Sebastian Giovinco. Now that they’re back together on the field, Orlando’s midfield will once again be a huge benefit to the team.

Finally A Win

Last night’s victory snapped a three-game winless streak and is only Orlando City’s second win in the last two months. Kaká has now played in three of the four wins for the club, having only played eight games on the season. Last night also extends the home unbeaten streak to 15 games, which is the longest active streak in MLS. Like I mentioned earlier, the Lions are only six points out of first with two games in hand, which means this team is still in perfect position to make the playoffs at season’s end.

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Those are my takeaways from the match. What stood out to you? Let us know in the comments below!