Orlando City vs. Montreal Impact: Player Grades and Man of the Match

This game was very strange. Orlando played one of its best 45 minutes of offense of the year in the first half and probably one of its worst 45 minutes in the second half. Jose Aja was at fault for two of Montreal’s three goals, but Jonathan Spector pulled one back in stoppage time to salvage a point at home.

Now, let’s get into the grades.

Starters

GK, Joe Bendik, 6 — It’s been a down last few games for the Orlando keeper. Was beaten near post for the first goal, beaten through his legs for the second, and dropped the ball after the initial save for the third. Jason Kreis mentioned that every goalkeeper goes through ups and downs and right now Bendik just isn’t as solid as he was earlier in the season. Still came out and made some good saves, including one on Hassoun Camara in the 77th minute.

D, Scott Sutter, 7.5 — Did another solid job in the back line. Was fairly aggressive going for the ball as well, leading the team in tackles, with four. Did well getting into the attack and serving balls into the area, but nothing came of them in the end. Finished the game with an 81% passing clip.

D, Jonathan Spector, 8 — It was a bit of a mixed bag for Spector in this one. For most of the match, he did an excellent job holding down the back line and stopping the front two on the counter. He also scored the equalizing goal in the 94th minute. However, on the second and third goals, Ignacio Piatti completely spun him around and basically took him out of the plays. Led the team in clearances and blocked shots and was fourth in passing with 90% accuracy.

D, Jose Aja, 4.5 — This was a night to forget for the Uruguayan. Had a really poor mistake in the 16th minute, giving the ball away to Ignacio Piatti, leading to a Montreal goal. Then followed it up with a missed, over-committed header on the second goal, taking him out of the play. Then he put the cherry on top with another giveaway to Piatti, who scored seconds later. He was subbed out in the 72nd minute.

D, Donny Toia, 7 .5— Against his former team, Toia did really well. Much like Sutter, he got forward often and helped in the attack. He even had a shot in the 18th minute that was deflected just wide. He was third on the team in tackles and clearances. The only knock on him potentially was that he was caught a bit too far forward at times and allowed Montreal to build up in the counter.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 7 — Both Higuita and Johnson had similar games. Did well to win the ball back, committed some silly fouls and did well distributing the ball out wide. Higuita had a 91% passing accuracy, finished third on the team in shots, and led the team in both tackles and fouls with four and five, respectively.

MF, Will Johnson , 7 — Essentially it’s cut and paste with Higuita as far as the breakdown. Johnson had a 92% passing accuracy, was also third on the team in shots, and fourth on the team in tackles. Came out for the last few minutes in favor of Luis Gil.

MF, Matias Perez Garcia , 8.5 (MOTM)— Tonight was a game that has been a long time coming for MPG. He was dynamic on the offensive end and solid defensively. Scored his first Orlando City goal in the eighth minute after some good wing play from Kaká and Barnes. Could have had an assist on the second goal, but Johnson’s shot was blocked and Rivas cleaned it up. Did manage an assist on the Spector goal off the corner, putting it perfectly into the box. Led the team in key passes, fouls earned, and dribbles, second on the team in total crosses, and third on the team in tackles.

MF, Kaka, 7.5 — A solid game for the captain and an impressive first half offensively. Had great chemistry with MPG and Barnes, linking up some great passes and getting into dangerous spaces in front of goal. Notched an assist on the first goal for MPG and continued to be a threat offensively going towards goal. The second half he was less effective, but that was mainly due to Montreal dropping back to defend the lead.

F, Giles Barnes, 8 — Was in very inspired form for this game and it really showed. Set up the first goal with a slotted pass for Kaká in the eighth minute and set up the second goal with his cross into the box. Had a number of good runs towards goal and, as mentioned with Kaká, had great link-up play with him, MPG, and himself. Was fourth on the team with 90% passing accuracy, second on the team in shots, and third in key passes.

F, Carlos Rivas, 7.5 — Once again, Rivas’ speed was a huge factor in this game. Balls over the top for him to chase opened up the offense for Orlando and allowed the Lions to break down the five at the back Montreal played. Scored his third goal of the year with a clean-up strike after Johnson had his shot saved in the 23rd minute. Led the team in both shots (five) and crosses (seven).

Substitutes

D, Tommy Redding (72’), 8 — Came in for Aja to try and calm the back line down and did just that. Was very composed despite the pressure from Montreal and had a few good stops defensively to keep the Impact off the scoreboard.

MF, Luis Gil (88’), N/A, — Came in for Johnson and tried to get something going offensively. Almost had a good play to Higuita in stoppage time, but it was cleared away by Montreal.

That is what the individual performances looked like to me. What did you think? Be sure to vote below for your OCSC Man of the Match. 

Polling Closed