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Orlando City

Orlando City at Houston: Player Grades and Man of the Match

Published

7 years ago

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It was a game that is best just forgotten. A 4-0 loss in Houston and a game where there were no standout players. Three games in the last eight days had a drastic effect on the Lions and they seemed fatigued and slow the entire game.

Let’s see how each player did, but, just a warning, it is not pretty.

Starters

GK, Joe Bendik, 3 — This may just have been Bendik’s worst ever performance with Orlando City. He got beat near post on the first goal from a shot from distance. The second goal he let in went through his legs and trickled into the back of the net. There is not much he could have done with the last two goals, but the first two went in because of his mistakes. After that, the defense pushed up and the Lions got caught on the break. If Bendik takes care of those first two goals, they don’t go down 2-0, and Orlando does not push forward. 

D, Donny Toia, 4 — Alberth Elis got the better of Toia all night. Defensively, Toia was slow and got beat way too often. On the first goal, he did not put much pressure on Elis, and Elis took advantage of it. He got beat in a two-on-one situation that led to a cross into the box and the second goal of the game. He picked up a yellow late in the game, as he took out Elis from behind on a restart. All in all he looked slow and tired throughout. 

D, Tommy Redding, 6 (MOTM)— It is weird to give a defender the Man of the Match in a four-goal loss, but none of the goals were much to do with Redding. He made some crucial clearances in the box and, as always, was comfortable on the ball and distributed it well, which is reflected in his 87% passing accuracy. He was caught up the field on Houston’s final two goals, but the entire team was pressing to attempt a comeback. 

D, Jose Aja, 5.5 — It was his first game back from injury but you could never tell it. In a game that his team let in four goals, Aja played well all night, especially when considering that he was not fully match fit. He was caught ball watching on the second goal and slow to get over to cover Mauro Manotas. Other than that it was a solid game from Aja.  

D, Scott Sutter, 4.5 — Sutter simply looked exhausted all night long. His touch was spot on and he seems to always find an open player. He also had numerous defensive stops and was an offensive threat on the right hand side, but defensively he was too slow. It seems as if this 270 minutes in the past three games got the better of the Sutter, and he will do some good with a week of rest. 

MF, Antonio Nocerino, 5 — Lasting 58 minutes, Nocerino was on the bad end of a turnover that led to Houston’s second goal. He was triple covered and tried to dribble out of harm’s way, but lost the ball and Houston scored on the play. He was caught in no-man’s land on Houston’s first goal, although it did not have an effect as Elis took the ball himself and beat Toia. Defensively, he made seven clearances and recoveries, his passing was overall good. 

MF, Will Johnson, 5 — With Kaká on the bench and Jonathan Spector not in the 18, Johnson was the leader on the Lions and could be seen directing his teammates. He was one of the Lions to bring down Mauro Manotas in the 11th minute to draw the penalty. The penalty seemed harsh, but Johnson definitely made contact. His overall performance was exceedingly average, not doing any spectacular or awful, as he returned from an illness in the midweek that kept him out against Toronto. He had a chance to tie the game in the 47th minute as a ball fell to his feet on the top of the box. He did not get enough power on the volley, though, and it was a training ground save for Willis. 

MF, Luis Gil, 5 — Gil had some pretty nice moments. First, half of Orlando City’s shots on target and 33% of the total shots came from Gil. He had a few nice dribbles, runs, and passes that broke Orlando City out into the attack. However, he also had some bad turnovers that led to Houston going on the counter. Most notably was his turnover in the 65th minute that led to the Dynamo going on the counter and scoring their third goal. 

MF, Matias Perez Garcia, 5 — MPG was all over the field and was a workhorse all night. It seemed Houston had a game plan of stopping MPG no matter what it takes and the Argentine won five free kicks for the Lions. His set pieces were poor connecting on none of his three attempts. Just like most of the rest of his team, he had a few bad turnovers. While MPG did not have a terrible game, he will want to put it behind him and not look back.  

F, Giles Barnes, 4.5 — In his first game against his old team, Barnes was substituted after 58 minutes in a disappointing outing. His only shot attempt of the game came in the 56th minute. It was a half-volley off a nice flick from Larin, but it was on his weak foot on a half volley and Barnes did not get his hips around, skewing it off target. He had 11 total passes — four of which came in the final third and all four were unsuccessful. 

F, Cyle Larin, 4.5 — Larin did not necessarily have a bad game; he simply was invisible most of the time. It could be said that the reason for this was that the midfield failed to get him the ball, but that is not a good excuse at this level. He only managed to get one shot that was easily saved by Willis, and a few defensive stops around midfield. Other than that it was as if the Canadian was not even in the game. 

Substitutions

M, Kaká (58’), 4.5 — When he came in Orlando City seemed re-energized, but it did not last long. He had only 16 passes and  one shot (wide) in a little over 30 minutes. Orlando needed some flair off the bench and Kaká tried but failed to deliver. After the fourth Houston goal, Kaká did not do much at all and the game seemed all but over. 

F, Carlos Rivas (58’), 4 — Rivas’ 44% passing accuracy is  simply awful. Same as Kaká, he failed to provide flair off the bench and the team did not look much better from when he entered the game. 

M, Cristian Higuita (71’), 5 — By the time Higuita got into the game, the ending was already written. He was pushed up the field almost the entire time, and was not impactful in the defense. Offensively he was good at distributing but it was all in the middle third of the field. 

That’s how I saw it. What did you think? Vote for your City MotM below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Matias Perez Garcia5
Tommy Redding30
Jose Aja1
Luis Gil0
Anyone who watched the full 90 minutes123

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City completes its three-matches-in-eight-days marathon with a cross-country trip to San Jose.

Published

8 hours ago

on

May 18, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a late Saturday night matchup between Orlando City SC (3-5-4, 13 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (3-9-1, 10 points). This is the only meeting between the teams in 2024 and the first time the teams have met since 2021.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 2-1-3 in the previous six MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions have yet to win an away game in the series, however, going 0-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The most recent meeting took place on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now in his second full season as the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

Orlando City is unbeaten in its last two games following a 0-0 home draw against Inter Miami Wednesday night. The Lions and Herons looked shattered in the second half of that game, and neither side would give an inch defensively. On the first clear looks at goal the teams had, both goalkeepers were outstanding, keeping the game scoreless. Orlando looks to earn points for the third straight match, but the team didn’t get to rotate much in the last week due to injuries, and things may not be back to normal just yet.

San Jose is in the Western Conference cellar with just three wins and 10 points from 13 matches. Still, the Earthquakes can score. San Jose has put the ball in the net 22 times this season. Only three Western Conference teams and five clubs in all of MLS have scored more. San Jose’s big problem has been shipping goals. The Quakes have conceded 32 times in 2024, which is dead last in Major League Soccer. The closest team to giving up that many is Portland, which has yielded 27 goals and just beat San Jose 4-2 on Wednesday night. That game was wild, with a horrible penalty throwing the Timbers a lifeline while they trailed 2-0 late. The bad call also resulted in the sending off of defender Bruno Wilson, though he will be eligible for this match after his one-game suspension was rescinded by the Independent Review Panel. Portland not only scored the penalty, but roared back to win 4-2 in a crazy game that included a second penalty on the Quakes later in the match.

Former FC Dallas coach Luchi Gonzalez is in his second season at the helm in San Jose. His team features a standout forward in Cristian Espinoza, who has two goals and a team-leading eight assists on the year. That gives him a direct goal contribution on nearly half of San Jose’s 22 goals in 2024. He’ll be the man Orlando must stop from scoring or setting up others, but the Quakes still have Jeremy Ebobisse (three goals), as well as a new No. 9, Amahl Pelligrino, who leads the Quakes with four goals on the year.

The Lions will need to avoid getting in a shootout with the Earthquakes, try to conserve energy, and play tight defense like they did on Wednesday.

“A really short period to prepare the game, but it’s the way that it is,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said about tonight’s game. “We’re traveling to the west coast, we had a very good flight, the boys look very fresh, and today we will train in the evening to keep our preparation and to keep recovering the team. So basically, that has been the routine so far and we’re just trying to get in and use this momentum to keep adding points.” 

The Lions will play this west coast game without Ramiro Enrique (right ankle), Mikey Halliday (right knee), Robin Jansson (right ankle), and Tahir Reid-Brown (left thigh). Cesar Araujo is also out tonight due to yellow card accumulation. The Earthquakes have three injuries heading into this game, with Daniel Britto (lower body), JT Marcinkowski (knee), and Jamar Ricketts (lower body) listed as out.

Match Content

Projected Lineups:

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Rodrigo Schlegel, David Brekalo, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Defensive Midfielders: Wilder Cartagena, Nico Lodeiro.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres.

Forwards: Duncan McGuire.

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: William Yarbrough.

Defenders: Vitor Costa, Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo.

Defensive Midfielders: Niko Tsakiris, Carlos Gruezo.

Attacking Midfielder: Amahl Pelligrino, Hernan Lopez, Cristian Espinoza.

Forwards: Jeremy Ebobisse.

Referees

REF: Malik Badawi.
AR1: Ryan Graves.
AR2: Adam Garner.
4TH: Brandon Stevis.
VAR: Kevin Stott.
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Opinion

Examining Orlando City’s 3-5-2

Let’s talk about Orlando City’s three-center-back formations, and try to determine if they should be the new norm.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 17, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

In the last two Orlando City matches against the Philadelphia Union and Inter Miami, Oscar Pareja has deployed his team in 3-5-2, and 3-4-1-2 formations, respectively. While Papi typically prefers to set his team up in a 4-2-3-1, injuries to fullbacks Rafael Santos, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, and Mikey Halliday have necessitated some creative problem solving. The two uses of the 3-5-2 and its slightly tweaked variant have been met with success, as the Lions have taken four points from their last two games and, as a result, there’s been some calls online for the team to persist with the formation. With that being the case, let’s do some digging into how the formation has served OCSC, and try to determine if it’s a viable option going forward.

A big thing to note with Orlando’s use of a three-man back line is the presence of Wilder Cartagena as the middle center back. It isn’t his natural position, but Rodrigo Schlegel’s suspension for the Union game meant that Pareja needed to conjure another center back from somewhere, and he elected to shift Cartagena into the back line rather than use Kyle Smith or one of Abdi Salim or Thomas Williams.

Against Philly, a normal 3-5-2 was used, with Pedro Gallese in goal, David Brekalo, Cartagena, and Robin Jansson in the back line, Ivan Angulo and Facundo Torres as wingbacks, Nico Lodeiro, Cesar Araujo, and Martin Ojeda in the midfield, and Luis Muriel and Duncan McGuire up top. The only tweaks against Miami were Schlegel replacing the injured Jansson and Ojeda pushing up to sit behind the two strikers in a 3-4-1-2 formation.

In the Union game, Orlando did a great job at pushing numbers forward quickly when it won the ball, and all three of its goals came in situations where the attack was pressed quickly when the Lions won possession. The Lions took 13 shots, with eight of them from inside the box, and totaled 1.25 expected goals (xG). The team’s best chances of the night came with McGuire’s headed opener and Muriel’s second goal, as both came from inside the box and both were converted. Against Miami, the Lions took 14 shots, with seven from inside the box, and totaled .69 xG. OCSC’s best chance came from Martin Ojeda’s 32nd-minute shot from inside the box, which was well saved by Drake Callender.

In essence, Orlando created more chances against the Union, and was more clinical about finishing those chances. However, the difference in attacking output wasn’t drastic, and we might be able to put it down to Miami being a better team than Philly and the Lions playing the Herons on short rest.

Against Philly, OCSC had a rough outing defensively. While one of the Union goals came from a penalty kick, the home team took a whopping 29 shots during the game with all but eight from outside the box, for a total of 3.85 xG. Against Miami, the Herons took seven shots with six inside the box for a total of .60 xG. Aside from Gallese stonewalling Luis Suarez just minutes into the game in a 1-v-1 chance, the defense largely did a good job of limiting chances.

Even accounting for two penalty kick attempts inflating Philadelphia’s expected goals, the Lions did a far better job at limiting dangerous chances against Miami. That could be due to the team being more comfortable with the defensive setup after using it for a game or a more cautious approach by Oscar Pareja due to Miami’s considerable firepower, even without the injured Lionel Messi.

The numbers and the eye test say that there’s enough reason to consider continuing to use the formation going forward. The Lions have shown that they can create chances and score goals, and they’ve shown that they can have a solid defensive outing, although it would be nice to demonstrate both characteristics in the same game. That, my friends, is where things start to get tricky, because persisting with the 3-5-2 or a variation of it isn’t as simple as obeying what the numbers say.

Let’s talk about Orlando’s personnel. Thorhallsson and Santos both seem to be working their way back from injury, and once healthy they could theoretically slot in at the two wingback positions, which should help Orlando avoid the defensive mess we saw against the Union. That means we need to figure out what to do with Torres and Angulo. Despite his slow start to the season, Torres is a guy you have to have on the field, and in order to do that, I propose slotting him into Ojeda’s spot in the 3-4-1-2. The problem there is that he hasn’t looked super comfortable when operating as a central playmaker, but this could be resolved by instructing Muriel to drop off McGuire and play a little deeper, and giving Facu free reign to roam into the wide areas where he’s more comfortable.

Assuming Jansson will be missing for a few more games, I think you keep Cartagena at center back, considering how well he’s played there. Ojeda and Angulo come off the bench as impact subs, and you can rotate Ojeda into Lodeiro’s spot in the midfield as necessary to protect the Uruguayan’s legs. Once Jansson is back, he can slot in as the third center back, and Cartagena can move into the midfield, with Nico likely being the man sacrificed in games where Pareja wants more defensive stability, or Cartagena/Araujo dropping to the bench if Papi wants to go in guns blazing. I don’t particularly love that option though, as you generally want your best players on the field, and I have a hard time justifying breaking up the Araujo-Cartagena partnership that’s seen so much success.

The immediate problem with any three-center-back formation is Araujo’s yellow card suspension, which will mean he’s unavailable for Saturday’s game against San Jose. Theoretically, Cartagena could move up the field to take his place and Smith could slot in for the Peruvian, or Felipe could start in Araujo’s place, but if Santos and Thorhallsson are fit enough to start, I think we’ll see the return of a four-man back line. Otherwise, the same lineup would be starting its third game in eight days, and on a West Coast trip to boot. That seems like a recipe for disaster, so while I think there’s a way to trot out a 3-5-2/3-4-1-2, I don’t think we’ll see it on Saturday.

In short, the two formations have shown enough promise for them to merit some more looks, while bearing in mind that we’ve only seen a small sample size. The biggest challenge with continued use comes when Orlando has a clean bill of health and you try to figure out how to get as many of your best players on the field as you can. At that point it becomes a question of whether one of the new formations maximizes this team’s strengths, or if the best course of action is to revert to a 4-2-3-1 and keep the 3-5-2 in the back pocket for when its needed.

Either way, the strategy is going to be something interesting to keep an eye on going forward.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/17/24

MLSPA releases player salaries, Duncan McGuire discusses move to Blackburn, Orlando Pride prepare for the Seattle Reign, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 17, 2024

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Happy Friday! The weekend is nearly here, with plenty of soccer both here in the domestic leagues and abroad. I have a pretty packed weekend but am looking forward to watching Orlando City and the Orlando Pride in action. It should be a nice next few days, so let’s get it started with today’s links!

MLSPA Releases Player Salaries

The Major League Soccer Players Association unveiled the base salary and guaranteed compensation information for every player under contract with the league as of April 25 — except Wilder Cartagena, apparently. Luis Muriel is the highest-paid Orlando City player, and his $4.3 million in guaranteed compensation is the 12th most in the league, while his base salary is just over $2.83. As for other Orlando newcomers, Nico Lodeiro’s compensation is $800,000 and David Brekalo’s is $683,000.

Lionel Messi predictably tops the list of all players with $20.4 million guaranteed for playing with Inter Miami. To put that number into perspective, it’s more than the compensation of every team in the league except his own team (Miami), Toronto FC, Nashville SC, and the Chicago Fire. Orlando City is 22nd in the league in compensation, clocking in at $15.07 million.

Duncan McGuire Weighs In on Moving to Blackburn

Orlando City forward Duncan McGuire had a hurricane of an off-season due to a transfer saga that nearly saw him join Blackburn Rovers in England. An administration error by Blackburn prevented the move from going through, and McGuire ultimately returned to Orlando. In the time since, there have been reports that Orlando offered him a new contract and that Blackburn still wants him to join in the summer. McGuire spoke about whether he is still interested in a move to Blackburn after the difficult experience.

“It’s tough to say,” McGuire told GOAL.”That was a pretty bad mistake, a pretty bad mistake by them. I’d be open to maybe having a conversation but it would have to be a lot to get me to go back there. On the plane ride back, I just felt like my tail was between my legs. I asked my agent how often this happens and he was like ‘This doesn’t happen’.

“I didn’t burn bridges with my teammates or have it be like ‘Oh you wanted to leave and now you’re back’. When I got back, it was like I never left.”

Orlando Pride Prepare for the Seattle Reign

The Orlando Pride will take their six-game win streak on the road for a match against the Seattle Reign Sunday night. The Reign are coming off of a 4-0 loss to the Portland Thorns in their sixth defeat of the season, but Pride Head Coach Seb Hines discussed how the Reign played better in that match than the score suggests. The Pride have also never won in Washington, and the turf and atmosphere of Lumen Field could give Orlando some trouble after a long trip. Injuries, particularly to the midfield, have made things difficult for the Pride, but midfielder Morgan Gautrat detailed how the team’s chemistry has helped them get results despite the adversity.

Nashville SC Fires Gary Smith

Nashville SC has parted ways with Gary Smith, who had been the club’s only head coach while in MLS. Smith joined Nashville back in 2018, coaching the team for two seasons in the USL Championship before. With a defensive style, Smith led the team to MLS playoff appearances in all four years but couldn’t put together a deep run. Nashville is currently 10th in the Eastern Conference and Rumba Munthali will serve as the club’s interim head coach while the club searches for a new permanent coach.

Charlotte FC Transfers Enzo Copetti Out

Another Designated Player is leaving Charlotte FC, as the club transferred Enzo Copetti to Rosario Central in Argentina’s top flight. The forward recorded eight goals and three assists across all competitions while with Charlotte, and has played less than 500 minutes this season. Copetti is the latest Designated Player transferred out since Dean Smith took over as Charlotte’s head coach, with Kamil Jozwiak sent to Granada and Karol Swiderski loaned to Hellas Verona. Despite the turnover, Charlotte sits fifth in the Eastern Conference and could make some noise this season if it brings in the right players in the summer transfer window.

Free Kicks

  • Former Lion Miguel Gallardo spoke with the folks over at The Blazing Musket about the New England Revolution and the art of goalkeeping.
  • Our condolences go out to the friends and family of Derek Sanderson, who played for many teams across many leagues back in the 1980s, including the American Soccer League’s Orlando Lions.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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