Orlando City vs. Toronto FC: Five Takeaways

Toronto FC continued its reign of terror on Orlando City in a 3-1 win in Orlando City Stadium Wednesday night. We’re told we always learn the most from adversity, so what can we take from this match? Our top five takeaways from the match are below.

Fouls, Fouls, Fouls

Fouls took their toll on Orlando City early and often, resulting in several free kicks, one of which was a goal from Sebastian Giovinco. Oddly, Orlando City did not benefit from any of the fouls going against it, especially in the final third of the field. Orlando City committed 11 fouls while Toronto FC committed just seven. Jason Kreis even commented as he was leaving the field that he didn’t like feeling like the visiting team at home thanks to the refs and he went off about it after the post-game press conference. PRO gonna PRO, Jason. PRO gonna PRO.

Plenty of Chances

It wasn’t that Orlando City didn’t have its fair share of chances. While it did take the Lions a good 25 minutes to play their way into the game, once they did, they dominated time of possession. But other than the goal from Carlos Rivas, they were unable to finish the opportunities they had. Orlando City had over 60% possession, five corner kicks, and 14 shots on goal. The chances were there, but the Lions just couldn’t convert.

Altidore and Giovinco Do it Again

Toronto’s dynamic duo did what they always do. Score goals. Jozy Altidore started it off slipping in behind Aja on an assist from Sebastian Giovinco. Giovinco would get his first goal barely minutes into the second half to give Toronto the two-goal lead. He then put in a perfect free kick over the wall in the only spot Joe Bendik couldn’t reach. Orlando could have done a better job defending against these two, but they are very good at scoring goals. Giovinco now has eight goals in three seasons against Orlando City, while Altidore has scored six in that span against the Lions.

Kaká Back to Form

Ricky was obviously off last week against Real Salt Lake. So much so, that he didn’t even talk to Jason Kreis on his way off the field after being subbed out. I’m not sure if it was a good night’s sleep, being back in Orlando, or something else, but he certainly looked much sharper in this game despite the loss. His passes were crisper, he showed his usual vision with cheeky heel flicks, and moves around defenders. Orlando City will need this version of Kaká heading into the remainder of the season. With two weeks off before the first Atlanta United FC game, he should be well rested and perhaps can build on a performance that saw him register another assist as well as five key passes.

Rivas Returns

Carlos Rivas came back from injury in the second half of the game, and immediately provided a spark. He was obviously hungry and it showed in his pace, his passing, and his runs into the box. It was on one of those runs that he scored Orlando City’s lone goal. Rivas wanted the ball, and was among Orlando City’s best when he had it at his feet. If he can play like that going forward, we can expect more goals the rest of the season.

Those are our five takeaways, but if there was something else you saw, let us know in the comments below.