Orlando City vs. Toronto FC: Five Takeaways

Orlando City came back from an early deficit, but fell to Toronto FC on a late goal by Jozy Altidore.

An early goal from Tosaint Ricketts put Orlando down early, but Cyle Larin was able to equalize with a header in the second half. Unfortunately, the Lions were beaten in the 86th minute by Jozy Altidore, scoring in his fourth straight game to put the match away.

Now, without further ado, let’s jump into the takeaways for the match.

Joe Bendik, Man

Another crazy performance from the Orlando City keeper should have been rewarded with a win, or at least a draw. Instead, Orlando give up two breakaway goals and lose at home for only the second time in just under a year. Bendik kept the Lions in the game with some spectacular saves, one of which will probably be save of the week, but it always seems that as good as Bendik is during games, something always seems to go bad. You gotta feel for Joe after this one.

Offense Still Lacking

To say that Orlando had some chances to score last night would be a huge understatement. The Lions wasted chance after chance to score, either putting shots straight to the keeper, losing the ball at the top of the box or mis-hitting the ball wide or off the post. Cyle Larin had three different opportunities early in the first half that he didn’t get good contact on. Despite getting into good positions to score, eventually putting one away, Larin will most likely lament his missed chances, especially his shot in the 92nd minute which ricocheted off the post. Both Kaká and Kevin Molino were also seemingly off their game; losing balls at their feet, under hitting passes and shooting off the mark. It was a game to forget for the Lions’ offense.

Late Goals, Man

It’s a story that has been well documented with this year’s Orlando City team: late goals. Jozy Altidore’s 86th-minute goal was the fifth goal allowed by Orlando after 85 minutes this year. Each of those five goals were game deciding ones, either turning wins into draws or draws into losses. While Orlando has had its share of late goals, it’s still the goals given up that hurt the most. Out of those five games, the Lions have dropped a total of eight points, considering the situations, which could have Orlando above the red line at this point in the season.

Tony Rocha is a Keeper

The former OCB midfielder started his first MLS match last night and held his own against a very good Toronto FC side. Not only did he lead Orlando in passing accuracy and chances created, but he led both sides in both of those categories. Having not played a full 90 minutes recently, the 23-year-old held down the midfield with Antonio Nocerino and kept Orlando in the game. Head Coach Jason Kreis said of Rocha, “I thought Tony had a pretty positive performance, but another player that I feel like needs to gain some match fitness, because I think he was dying a little bit for stretches in the second half.”

Playoffs Getting Further From View

New York City FC is undefeated in its last four games and currently sits in second place in the East. With the loss last night, Orlando needs to take three points from this match against a very good team in order to remain in the race for sixth place in the standings. With only nine games remaining in the season and only four of them, including Sunday’s match, at home, the Lions need to capitalize on all the chances they can get to win games at home. Considering their abysmal away record, the five away games shouldn’t be relied on to get points, but pulling at least nine of their last 12 points from home games would help balance it all out.

Those are my five takeaways from last night’s match. Anything I missed? Let me know in the comments below.