Orlando City vs Chicago Fire: Five Takeaways

Coming off a road tie against the Seattle Sounders, the Lions were looking to make the most out of their second game within the same week. So, what are some of the major takeaways from the road game against the Chicago Fire?

Worst Goal the Lions Gave Up All Season?

Less than four minutes into the game, the Lions found themselves on their heels. Chicago created two amazing chances against the Lions, capitalizing on the first chance of the two. Chicago played the ball wide and eventually in to David Accam, who was waiting around the six-yard box free of any defender. Accam sent a nifty flick behind his leg and into the back of the net to put the Chicago Fire up on Orlando in the third minute. The pressure did not fade as the Fire almost immediately earned a second opportunity in which they should have scored — fortunately they were unable to capitalize.

But then the Lions found themselves down 2-0 despite being saved by the missed opportunity. David Accam again found himself in space as Jonathan Spector left him on side and then with two cut backs, Accam again found the back of the net to leave the Lions wondering what they were doing.

Consecutive Road Games are Never Good

In the game against the Seattle Sounders the Lions battled 90+ minutes and somehow found a way to score in the 94th minute of the game. In doing so, the Lions earned a much-needed point on the road and everything felt great…and lucky a bit.

That was this past Wednesday and now only three days later the Lions found themselves on the road yet again, this time against the Chicago Fire. The Lions have not looked good on the road all season long and despite the point earned in Seattle, the road woes did not seem improved. In the first 10 minutes of the game OCSC looked tired and Kaká barely touched the ball — these are the downsides that led to the Fire leading 2-0 within the first eight minutes of the game.

Inevitably Accam walked away with his first MLS hat-trick and the Chicago Fire walked away with a 4-0 victory.

Incidentally, the last time Orlando went on the road and didn’t come home before the next road game was the 4-0 loss at Houston.

Did Kaká Need a Rest?

Kaká played two games within the same week, accumulating a high number of minutes. In the first half of the game against the Fire he was barely noticeable as he earned limited touches on the ball. The former world player of the year looked slower than usual and did not seem to have his magic touch — which is always crucial to the Lions.

So did Kaká deserve rest? Simply put, yes! Kaká, at age 35 is not the player Orlando City should be playing two games in a week in the middle of the season. Perhaps he should have sat, as he has before, but he didn’t and the result was not very good.

Things Spiraled Quickly

If the first goal the Lions gave up against the Chicago Fire was one of the worst defensive displays of the season, you can’t say you saw much improvement from that point forward. Orlando City was scored on twice within the first eight minutes of the game and then again seven minutes into the second half. Even more icing on the cake was when the Orlando defense gave up a penalty kick which gave Accam his first MLS hat trick and the Fire a 4-0 advantage. The starts of both halves were bad, which leads the this question: is this the worst you have seen Orlando City this season?

Bigger score margins may exist in the Lions’ past but the idea that this team played well at all against the Chicago Fire is a far cry from reality. The team looked tired, could not connect passes, and opportunities were few and far between — in addition, the defense was nowhere close to the norm. All signs point to this being the worst the Lions have looked all season long.

Looking for Positives

Well the score result, the way the team looked, the shape of formation, Kaká getting very few touches and the defense looking rather bad are all signs that point to no positivity, but fortunately we have one. Richie Laryea made his first team debut with Orlando City and yes, that is a positive.

Well these are the five takeaways, did you see something that we didn't? Let us know in the comments below.