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Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Five Takeaways

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6 years ago

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Orlando City survived and advanced in the U.S. Open Cup after a lightning-delayed, rain-soaked night in Boyds, MD, at the Maryland SoccerPlex. A nervy 120 minutes in the round of 16 ended in a 1-1 draw and a place in the quarterfinals went to the coin flip of penalty kicks, which the Lions grabbed decisively, 4-2.

What did we learn from the first night of the second Bobby Murphy era?

New Shape Mostly Effective

In four previous matches in charge of Orlando City, Murphy trotted out a 4-2-3-1 – a familiar shape the club has used most of this season. No matter. Murphy went with a 3-4-3, opting to use the team’s three top center backs across the back line; two fullbacks, a defensive midfielder, and an attacking midfielder in the middle; and two wings and forward Stefano Pinho up at the top of the formation. D.C. coach Ben Olsen said after the game that it was a change that United didn’t expect. For the most part, the experiment was a success. The three central defenders provided cover on a night when the wingbacks were a bit sloppy (more on that below) and when the midfield was a bit outnumbered.

Murphy’s lineup was full of delightful surprises, starting with a missing starter’s return. Lamine Sané hadn’t played since May 18 at Toronto but there was no easing him back into the lineup. Murphy isn’t coddling anyone. He put the French-Senegalese defender right into the starting lineup on a rainy night that ended up lasting more than 120 minutes. Speaking of missing starters, Scott Sutter didn’t play, but he did make the 18. Again, Murphy isn’t coddling anyone. Oh, you can play? Get in there!

While most of Murphy’s starters were regulars, there were exceptions in goal, where Earl Edwards Jr. was deployed, and up top, where Pinho replaced Dom Dwyer, who was rested in this match. It will be interesting to see how the team lines up on Saturday, particularly after riding defenders Sané, Amro Tarek, and Jonathan Spector, and midfielders Justin Meram, Sacha Kljestan, and Chris Mueller for 120 minutes on a heavy pitch.

Lions Continue Wasteful Ways

Orlando City peppered the D.C. goal with 21 shot attempts, but only three were on target. This continues a worrying trend of poor finishing from the Lions, who had ample opportunities to put the game away with several good looks. Pinho sent a shot badly wide in the 19th minute after Sacha Kljestan threaded a gorgeous through-ball to him that covered about 30 yards. Justin Meram and Kljestan fired over the bar on decent looks from just outside the area in the 53rd and 61st minutes, respectively. Pinho’s free header went just wide in the 69th minute and RJ Allen’s effort missed by even less two minutes later. Through normal time, only one shot was on frame and that was Meram’s shot right at Steve Clark, who let it slip through his grasp for Orlando’s only goal.

In extra time, Mueller got a high, arcing header on frame but Clark scrambled back to catch it. Colmán missed an empty net — albeit from a tight angle — in the 99th minute. Will Johnson missed the net two minutes later from inside the area. At least Colmán forced a good save from Clark in the 105th, but Johnson’s header was off frame in the 107th and Colmán fired over the bar in the 120th.

This lack of accuracy simply isn’t good enough and we’ve already seen it cost the Lions multiple games over the past month.

Lions Locked in During PKs

On the other hand, Orlando was locked in when the match went to penalties. Four of Orlando’s five shooters found the net and the only one who didn’t — Jose Villareal — fired his shot on target but Clark guessed correctly and the height was comfortable for him to make the save while diving to his right. If the Lions can translate the accuracy from the penalty shootout into the run of play, this will be a much better offense. Sure, there is less to worry about in terms of defenders and angles when it comes to penalties, but the key with the shootout was composure. Showing some in the run of play would allow the team to return to the win column on a regular basis.

Wayward Wingbacks

Mohamed El-Munir and RJ Allen should have been in a great position to contribute offensively in the 4-3-4. With more defender coverage behind them than usual, they were free to roam up the pitch and get involved, but things didn’t go as well as they should have. Below is their passing chart from the match.

As you can see, the passing accuracy in the final third was a mess. Mo failed to produce one accurate cross, while Allen had one, which created a chance. El-Munir had very few completed positive passes — just a few square balls and mainly back passes. Allen had several cross attempts blocked, but at least he had more success linking up with Kljestan and Mueller on his side.

El-Munir also made a ton of defensive miscues in the match and was lucky not to be sent off in the 116th minute, when he lost the ball and grabbed a D.C. player, before angrily kicking the ball at him. This could easily have been two yellows instead of one, though it may not have played a role in the outcome so close to the end.

If Orlando is going to play this shape again, the Lions will need to be sharper on the wings.

The Landlord Knows Penalties

Earl Edwards Jr. came up huge on the first D.C. United penalty kick, denying Yamil Asad’s attempt after Will Johnson had put the Lions ahead in the shootout. It was a big momentum builder for Orlando, which scored on its first three attempts.

We first saw Earl save a penalty back on May 2, 2015, when he did it in a 3-2 friendly victory over Brazilian side Ponte Preta. That night, Edwards denied Biro Biro’s spot kick in the first half to keep the Lions just a goal down at the time, allowing his team to rally. That was nothing compared to what he did on June 17 of that inaugural MLS season, when he made three saves in a 10-round penalty shootout at Charleston that allowed Orlando City to advance past the Battery and into the fifth round. That night, he stopped Taylor Mueller, Dante Marini, and Zach Prince from the spot and City eventually won the shootout, 8-7, after a 4-4 draw in the U.S. Open Cup’s fourth round.

Last year, he stopped a penalty against Ottawa’s Gerardo Bruna in a nine-save effort for Orlando City B in a 3-0 home win. He also denied former USL Lion Aodhan Quinn from the spot in a 2-2 draw at FC Cincinnati last August.

The takeaway here is this: If you have to face penalty kicks, leave it up to “The Landlord” to evict those shots.

That’s what I saw in Orlando’s rain-drenched effort last night. What stood out to you?

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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

10 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

13 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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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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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/17/24

Orlando City rises in power rankings, Orlando Pride waive two players, Champions League results, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

April 17, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Time to start your day with some tasty links. It’s shaping up to be an exciting weekend with Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and Orlando City B all playing. Last week, Orlando’s teams ended up with seven out of nine possible points. Here’s hoping we see nine out of nine this weekend. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Moving On Up

Starting the season 0-3-1 is a good way to be in the cellar of the utterly meaningless MLSsoccer.com power rankings. Orlando City is now starting to climb up the rankings thanks to three straight results. The Lions moved up four spots to 21st after the 3-2 victory over DC United. It was Duncan McGuire’s goal that secured the win, and his performance off the bench was a talking point for this week as well.

Farewell Kaylie Collins and Tori Hansen

The Orlando Pride announced that goalkeeper Kaylie Collins and defender Tori Hansen were waived on Tuesday. Both players were on loan in Australia’s A-League Women ,with Collins at Western Sydney Wanderers FC and Hansen with Melbourne Victory FC. Collins and Hansen were both NWSL draft picks for the Pride, though neither saw significant minutes with the club.

Barbra Banda Begins Training

Barbra Banda participated in her first training with the Pride Tuesday. It’s uncertain how much playing time she may get this week, but it’s possible she makes her first appearance against the San Diego Wave this Friday. Please remember that it sometimes takes new players time to get used to a new club, a new city, and a new league. Of course, I’m still hoping she comes on and scores a brace against the Wave.

Wild Matches in Champions League Quarterfinals

Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund both overcame deficits in the first leg to advance to the UEFA Champions League semifinals. PSG dropped four goals on Barcelona to win 6-4 on aggregate. Barcelona scored first, but made things hard on itself when Ronald Araújo was sent off.

Borussia Dortmund also scored four goals, defeating Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate. Dortmund gave up an own goal, but battled back to take the lead in the match and then the lead in the tie thanks to goals scored in the 71st and 74th minutes. It was a wild, fun match to watch. Dortmund and PSG will meet in the semifinals.

Free Kicks

  • MLS will now start implementing the new rules for off-field treatments, timed substitutions, and in-stadium VAR announcements. The idea is to maximize effective match time.
  • The International Football Association Board (IFAB) will test new time limit rules during the 2024-2025 season for how long keepers can hold the ball with potential consequences including giving the opposing team a corner or a throw-in.
  • Finally, our thoughts are with the friends and family following the passing of Joel McKell.

That will do it for today. Check back later in the week as we get you ready for the Orlando City, Orlando Pride, and OCB matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!

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