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Orlando City vs. Miami FC: Five Takeaways

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7 years ago

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After sleeping on it, there’s still no two ways around what we saw last night from Orlando City — the Lions’ 3-1 dismissal from the U.S. Open Cup at the hands of Miami FC at home was shameful.

If you were fortunate enough to miss the match, we’ve got you covered with a full recap as well as player grades. Right now, it’s time for the takeaways, which, as you can imagine, weren’t overwhelmingly positive.

Orlando’s Biggest U.S. Open Cup Disappointment Since…Last Year

Wednesday marked the second year in a row that Orlando City was eliminated from U.S. Open Cup play by an NASL side, after falling 2-1 to Ft. Lauderdale in 2016.

This loss was perhaps even more disappointing, however, as it took a heroic extra-time goal from then-Striker PC to lift Ft. Lauderdale over Orlando last year. Miami FC, on the other hand, didn’t need the help of any red cards and it sure as hell didn’t need extra time, looking superior from the opening minute and embarrassing Orlando on its way to a 3-0 lead. It took former Ballon d’Or winner Kaká and Carlos Rivas coming on in the second half to create much of anything for the Lions against NASL competition, and even then the only goal of the match for City came off a header on a set piece from a difficult angle, hardly an indictment of the Miami defense.

Miami is currently five points clear at the top of the NASL table, so it’s a quality NASL side to be sure. But getting so thoroughly out-played at home by a lower-division side is unacceptable, and the fact that it’s the second home loss to an NASL club in a row to end Orlando’s U.S. Open Cup hopes makes it all the more frustrating.

Orlando’s Defense Pulled a 180 from Chicago Performance

The same back line that started Orlando’s recent 0-0 draw with Chicago took the pitch to start Wednesday night’s Open Cup match. Perhaps the Lions should’ve had a man sent off as they did with Rafael Ramos in what would eventually be a nine-man defensive stand against the Fire, because that back line turned in a very different effort vs. Miami FC.

There is a very different atmosphere for a home league match with 24,469 fans and a fourth-round U.S. Open Cup match in front of a sparse crowd of 5,838, but the effort was very, very poor from the Lions overall, starting with the back line. As great as City’s home-field advantage has been in league play, the Lions shouldn’t have to have such a crowd to inspire better effort.

Miami was on the front foot from the start, and by the time Stefano Pinho slid to tap home the visitors’ first goal of the night half an hour in — the low cross he finished having easily gotten past PC, Jonathan Spector, and a sliding Ramos — Miami already had a 7-0 advantage in shots. Pinho skied over Spector to head home a second goal just six minutes later, and Kreis was prompted to change things up at the half by inserting Tommy Redding into the defense and sliding Ramos forward in more of a 3-5-2 look. Miami immediately put two shots on target within the first two minutes of the second half, so it’s safe to say things didn’t get too much better despite the shift.

Miami was still clearly the better side and would go on to make it 3-0 with a laugher of a tap-in from Pinho to complete his hat trick, having made a run unmarked behind the Orlando back line with Leo Pereira notably jogging behind him, seemingly unaware and helpless. Spector didn’t deputize in his usual manner, while neither Servando Carrasco nor Antonio Nocerino put in the kind of inspiring shift that Will Johnson did in the central midfield vs. Chicago, and things were just bad in general, which Miami happily took advantage of.

Speaking of Pinho

You might have expected the star man for Miami to be former NYCFC attacker Kwadwo Poku, who registered five goals and seven assists and flashed star potential at times in his year-and-a-half stint in MLS. On Wednesday, though, it was former NASL Golden Ball winner Stefano Pinho who stole the spotlight.

The Brazilian single-handedly put Orlando City down 3-0, setting up all three of his scores with direct runs at goal followed by sure finishes. He never ceased working and made the City defense look flat-out bad at times, and he was rewarded with a fairly easy three-goal night that eclipsed his current league-goal tally of two so far in 2017. Minnesota United shipped Pinho off before its ascent to MLS this season, but he notched 15 NASL goals in 2015 for Ft. Lauderdale, and the former Fluminense man showed out against an MLS side on Wednesday when he got the chance.

The last Brazilian to doom Orlando City in the U.S. Open Cup (the aforementioned PC) wound up in purple the following season, so who knows, maybe Pinho chose the perfect club to audition against with a hatty.

The Lions Were Toothless in Attack

The Lions rolled out a somewhat-experienced starting lineup against Miami, but there was a notable lack of firepower up front that became glaring as the evening went on. Hadji Barry and Giles Barnes started up top for the Lions in the 4-4-2 and, along with their supporting teammates, looked mostly harmless in attack. While Orlando’s defense was under-performing and allowing Miami to get shot after shot at Josh Saunders’ net, there was zero support on the other end.

Barry deflected a PC cross wide of the goal in what was probably Orlando’s best chance of the first half (which is saying something, and not in a good way), but he made way for Carlos Rivas in minute 69 in an effort to get some forward momentum in what was already a lost game. Barnes did notch a goal with less than 15 minutes to go, and it was a beauty — coming off a flick on from a Rivas corner at a tight angle — but Barnes was not much of an open-play threat up front despite that effort.

Kaká came on in minute 63 in a swap for Spector, but the duo of Kaká and Rivas couldn’t have realistically been expected to erase the three-goal deficit at that point with less than half an hour to work. Cyle Larin continues to carry the brunt of the scoring load for Orlando in MLS, and his absence on Wednesday was noticeable, as the Lions don’t have anything close to a formidable replacement for the Canadian up front, which doesn’t bode well for the upcoming games that Larin will undoubtedly miss following his DUI arrest Thursday morning.

Orlando Must Rebound Quickly

We could keep talking about Wednesday’s loss, but it would only further improve the chances of nausea at this point. Orlando City welcomes Montreal Impact on Saturday, so the Lions can’t afford to let this result linger at all otherwise they risk letting it affect their league campaign in addition to their cup run.

The Lions sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings at the moment, level on points with third-place NYCFC and are only behind due to goal difference. As uninspired as Wednesday night’s showing was vs. Miami, Orlando’s last home showing in MLS was about as inspired as they come, making a 0-0 draw feel like a triumph due to two red cards. The crowd will be back to its usual level — both in numbers and in terms of noise — and Orlando City has a chance to keep itself sitting nicely in the table while burying the memory of their lone 2017 U.S. Open Cup match as soon as possible.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/19/24

Orlando Pride host the San Diego Wave, Orlando City B faces Crown Legacy FC, Europa League action, and more.

Published

3 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Happy Friday! Make sure to get your night plans in order as both the Orlando Pride and Orlando City B have games tonight. Figure out your drink of choice, charge those devices if you don’t plan on heading to the stadium for the Pride game, and knock out any chores before things get rolling. It should be a fun day, so let’s get it started with some links!

Orlando Pride Host the San Diego Wave Tonight

After earning their first win last week in Utah, the Orlando Pride are back in the City Beautiful for tonight’s game against the San Diego Wave at 8 p.m. The Pride’s four-game unbeaten run is on the line and will be put to the test against a Wave team that has four points from three games. San Diego has only scored two goals this season, but it has also secured a pair of clean sheets so far. The biggest storyline heading into the match is whether or not Barbra Banda will make her Pride debut. Hopefully Orlando can light it up at home and keep former Pride forward Alex Morgan and the rest of the Wave’s offense in check.

Orlando City B Takes On Crown Legacy FC

The Young Lions are also in action tonight at 7:30 p.m., with a match against Crown Legacy FC in North Carolina. Crown Legacy is only a point behind OCB, but is still searching for its first win of this MLS NEXT Pro season. OCB has played every game away from the Orlando area so far and ground out a 1-1 draw against Philadelphia Union II last weekend. Orlando hasn’t won a game since its season opener on March 16, but has been proven capable of getting points on the road. Wilfredo Rivera and Yutaro Tsukada linked up for the equalizer in that match, so hopefully they can keep that momentum rolling into tonight’s game.

Americans to Watch This Weekend

European soccer seasons and tournaments are nearing their ends and there are many Americans in important games this weekend. Haji Wright’s heroics put Coventry City into the FA Cup semifinals, and he will have a chance to impress again on Sunday against Manchester United. Elsewhere in England, Fulham duo Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream could put a dent in Liverpool’s title hopes, while Nottingham Forest’s Matt Turner and Giovanni Reyna will square off against Everton, as both sides aim to avoid relegation. Over in Italy, AC Milan duo Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah will try to stop Inter Milan from claiming the Serie A title in a rivalry match at San Siro. There’s also a showdown between Americans in the Scottish Cup semifinals, with Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers going up against Aberdeen and Dante Polvara.

Europa League Quarterfinals Come to a Close

The Europa League quarterfinals are done and dusted and only four teams remain in contention for some silverware. West Ham United took the lead against Bayer Leverkusen, but couldn’t overcome the aggregate deficit and the German club advanced. Leverkusen also scored a late equalizer to make it a 1-1 draw and extend its unbeaten streak to 44 games. Marseille scored at home against Benfica to send the game to extra time and then won the eventual penalty shootout. Atalanta did enough in a 1-0 loss to Liverpool to advance on aggregate, with Liverpool’s lone goal coming from an early Mohamed Salah penalty kick. AS Roma is also through to the semifinals after a 2-1 win against AC Milan, despite a red card in the first half. In the semifinals, Marseille will face Atalanta and Leverkusen will take on Roma.

Free Kicks

  • Houston Dynamo Head Coach Ben Olsen has agreed to a new contract that will keep him with the club through 2026. Olsen has quietly dragged the Dynamo out of the Western Conference’s basement and won last year’s U.S. Open Cup as well.
  • New York Red Bulls defender Andres Reyes was suspended an additional match for violent conduct in the team’s match against the Chicago Fire. This means Reyes will miss tomorrow’s match against LAFC and the home game against the Vancouver Whitecaps on April 27.
  • American left back Jorge Villafana is hanging up his cleats. He won the MLS Cup with the Portland Timbers back in 2015 and the Concacaf Gold Cup with the U.S. in 2017.
  • Replays won’t be a part of the FA Cup for the next six years. This will ease some of the schedule congestion for English Premier League teams, but it denies lower-division sides the chance at more revenue.
  • The folks over at Stars and Stripes FC shined a spotlight on forward Jubilo Iwata, who currently leads Japan’s J1 League in scoring after eight games. It’s always cool to learn more about some of the lesser-known players in the U.S. player pool.
  • An NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers will be played in Brazil at Corinthians Arena. However, there’s an unofficial rule at the stadium that green can’t be worn, as it is the color of Corinthians rival, so we’ll see if that’s adhered to come September.
  • Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird’s production company will adapt Cleat Cute, a romance novel by Meryl Wilsner about love between teammates on a women’s soccer team. As someone who’s read it and loved it, I’m pretty excited for the show to say the least.

That’s all I have for you today. Stay hydrated and enjoy the games today. Go Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City at CF Montreal: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do on the road against CF Montreal to take home all three points ?

Published

24 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City opened the season against CF Montreal, playing to a 0-0 draw at Inter&Co Stadium back in February. Now, the Lions head to the Great White North to play the pesky Canadian club again. There’s no Concacaf Champions Cup competition to worry about this time, so hopefully Orlando City can get a victory.

What does Orlando City need to do to follow up the D.C. United victory with another win?

Just Say No

Outscoring your opponents while giving up two goals is all well and good, but outscoring your opponents while also keeping a clean sheet is much better. Orlando City has given up 13 goals over seven matches. It’s actually worse than that considering that the club has two clean sheets meaning those 13 goals came in just five matches. The Lions need to do better at not conceding goals.

Of course, one of those clean sheets came against Montreal to start the season, and the entire defense is seemingly healthy and ready to go. Our old foe Josef Martinez is always a threat and Matias Coccaro has three goals for Montreal so far this season. Stopping them is crucial. If Orlando City can maintain the same defensive discipline it showed in the previous match against Montreal, it will make earning points on the road much easier.

Designated Player Goals

Orlando City has scored seven goals so far this season. Duncan McGuire leads the team with three goals, thanks to his goal last week. Do you know who hasn’t scored yet? If you said any of Orlando City’s Designated Players, you would be correct. I’m not going to ring any emergency bells just yet, but it’d be a lot cooler if Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, or Facundo Torres scored a goal this week.

I think they are all close to breaking out. Torres has scored this year, just not in the MLS regular season. Muriel has been getting closer each match, and is still contributing in other ways. The same can be said of Ojeda. My point is that the goals are coming. Perhaps a trip to another country is exactly what they need to get off the mark.

The Battle on the Wings

Orlando City will be playing against former Lion Ruan. He lines up on the right for Montreal and will be a challenge for either Rafael Santos or Kyle Smith, depending on who gets the start. Of course, if Ivan Angulo is playing in his usual role on the left side of Orlando City’s attack, there could be some interesting races between the two speedy players.

I think that the other side of the field is where the match might be won or lost. Since Orlando City fell out of the Concacaf Champions Cup, the team has been on a more regular schedule. That has allowed Dagur Dan Thorhallsson to regain his form in the right fullback position for the Lions. He scored a goal last week, has an assist on the season, four crosses, and 10 key passes. He is an integral part of Orlando City’s attack and if he can win the battles against Raheem Edwards and Joaquin Sosa on the right side of Montreal’s lineup, he could have another big night.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/18/24

Barbra Banda’s opportunity in Orlando, Omar Gonzalez’s mental health struggles, UEFA Champions League quarterfinals finish, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this week has been treating you well as we gear up for another weekend packed with Orlando soccer. It’s been a fairly busy week for me as I juggle work with keeping an eye on my cat. He’s a bit of a menace, but at least in a cute way. I’ll spare you my rambling on how great he is, and instead give you today’s links from around the soccer world.

Opportunity Knocks for Barbra Banda

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda landed in the City Beautiful and spoke on how her first week with the team has been going. While there’s plenty of buzz surrounding the Pride on how Banda should improve the team’s offense, playing in the NWSL will also help the 24-year-old further develop her game.

“I think the league is quite good. I’ve been following it from way back,” she said. “I think it’s a very interesting league, very strong. All the teams are very physical, fast. So I think it’s good for myself to improve.”

Now that she’s with the Pride, soccer fans around the world will now have better access to watch one of the best forwards in women’s soccer. Banda also talked about the warm welcome she received at the airport and you can check out more of her reaction to that and some of her first few days in Orlando in the video below.

Portland Thorns Head Coach Reassigned

Mike Norris is no longer the head coach of the Portland Thorns after the club made him a technical director instead. The Thorns have never had a worse start to an NWSL season, losing three of their four games this year and still searching for their first win. Rob Gale will serve as the team’s interim head coach while the club does a global search for a replacement. I’m a bit surprised that Norris wasn’t given a few more weeks to turn things around, considering Portland is just a win away from being back in the thick of things. We’ll see if the Thorns will get that win with Gale at the helm when they take on the struggling Houston Dash Saturday.

Omar Gonzalez Shares His Mental Health Journey

American defender Omar Gonzalez discussed the difficulties he’s had over the course of his year and the toll it has had on his mental health. His own goal in the USMNT’s loss to Trinidad & Tobago that cost the team its chance to qualify for the 2018 World Cup would be rough for any player to overcome, but Gonzalez stated that head injuries made a stressful few years of his life much more difficult. Gonzalez admitted that he had daily suicidal thoughts until he reached out for needed help while with Toronto FC. Things have since improved and he’s currently with his hometown team, FC Dallas. I think it’s helpful for players like Gonzalez to be open about the mental health problems athletes face. Hopefully this lets other athletes know they aren’t alone in these struggles and encourages them to reach out for help if needed.

UEFA Champions League Semifinals Are Set

Only four teams are still standing in the UEFA Champions League after the quarterfinals wrapped up with plenty of dramatic soccer. The matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City lived up to expectations with a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in England. Real Madrid prevailed and ended City’s run, with Andriy Lunin making two saves in the shootout. In the other quarterfinal, Bayern Munich advanced after beating Arsenal 1-0, thanks to Joshua Kimmich’s head.

It all sets up for a thrilling pair of semifinals and potential storylines for the final. Will Bayern and Borussia Dortmund reach the final for a rivalry match for the ages? Can Kylian Mbappe finally give Paris Saint-Germain a Champions League title, and will it be at the expense of Real Madrid? If the semifinals are anything like the quarterfinals, it will be great soccer to enjoy.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City Director of Equipment Operations Charles Raycroft received some deserved recognition after reaching an impressive milestone in his career.
  • Romario, who was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1994 after helping Brazil win a World Cup, has registered himself as a player for America Football Club. The 58-year-old has been the president of the club since 2009 and now has the chance to play alongside his son Romarinho.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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