Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Five Takeaways

Published

on

Orlando City had a chance to make a statement Wednesday night against the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Union. Not only were the Lions trying to win consecutive matches for the first time in 2019 after alternating league wins with losses, but a victory would also announce that James O’Connor’s bunch was truly progressing from a league bottom feeder to a legitimate threat for postseason play.

For 45 minutes, the Lions did make that statement. Orlando played well in the opening 10 minutes, looking eager to run the Union off the pitch. You could look at the period after Chris Mueller’s goal as a lull by the Lions or as the conference leaders responding to an early kick in the teeth, but either way, Orlando largely did what it had done on Saturday in Columbus: kept most of the danger out on the perimeter and relied on a strong central defensive pairing to clear away the crosses in hopes of springing a counter.

The game plan was fine but it all flew out the window just before the half when Robin Jansson was sent off and started a chain of events that led to a 3-1 home loss — the team’s third multi-goal loss of the season, with all of them coming at home.

Seeing Red

The most glaring takeaway is that Jansson’s sending-off ruined the game for Orlando, and the fans who braved awful weather on a midweek night. Fafa Picault’s pace was the catalyst and although the Swede gamely tried a desperation tackle — and did manage to touch the ball first — he didn’t knock it far enough off line to clearly deny a goal-scoring opportunity and his awkward position after the lunge resulted in scissoring down the speedy Philadelphia winger. I can’t argue the red card and won’t pardon the offense, but the alternative there is to allow a dangerous opportunity where the Union likely would have scored anyway. That’s an unfortunate result for a player who has largely settled down Orlando’s back line and has combined with Lamine Sané to finally create some stable play in the Lions’ central defense for the first time in the team’s MLS era.

Seeing More Red

There’s really no way to dispute Sacha Kljestan’s red card either. It was perhaps as desperate an attempt to win the ball as Jansson’s, but it was far more dangerous and infinitely less necessary. Unlike Jansson’s play, there was no immediate danger of conceding after the turnover in Kljestan’s case. I don’t believe the midfielder had any intent or malice on the play. I think he was just frustrated and desperate to win the ball back and made a horrible decision to make a flying lunge at it. Sacha is no spring chicken anymore, and perhaps he once would have closed the gap enough to win a ball in that fashion but he’s been logging a lot of minutes in recent weeks and age hasn’t been kind to him in the lost steps department. Fatigue may have played a role in both the decision he made and the lack of intended execution and O’Connor alluded to that in his post-game press conference. I expect he’ll receive an additional game or two suspension for his horror tackle on Jamiro Monteiro as his desperation lunge resulted in his studs finding a leg rather than a soccer ball.

Cash Money is Progressing

With goals in each of his last two matches, Mueller has not only achieved a new modest career high total of five, but he’s also shown that his body has adjusted to the rigors of Major League Soccer. Last season, Mueller had scored all three of his goals on the year (in consecutive games) by the end of April, and didn’t find the net for the final six months of the season.

“Yeah, I feel good,” Mueller responded to my question last night about him finding his groove. “I feel confident and I just want to keep helping the team any way I can. I want to get results, first and foremost, right? So the goals are nice, but first I want to win.”

Mueller was part of 10 total goals last season (three goals, seven assists) and he’s already contributed to eight in 2019 (five goals, three assists). Becoming a more consistent threat, as it not only eases the burden on Dom Dwyer, Nani, and Tesho Akindele, but it also forces opponents to recognize the danger he possesses, which can in turn open up distribution lanes for others to score more easily.

Welcome Home, Will

More and more of Will Johnson’s haters are coming around in 2019 and it was nearly impossible to look at his performance last night and see beyond the positives. Johnson ran his hind end off all night, regardless of how many of his teammates were sent to the locker room early. He shuttled the ball back and forth, finding spaces for continued possession. Johnson tied Kljestan for the team lead in chances created (2), went 3/3 in long ball completion, completed 98.2% of his pass attemps, and was his usual pest of a self defensively (a team-high four tackles, a co-leading five clearances, and an interception). He also tied for the team lead in shot attempts (three), although his accuracy on those shots was very defensive-midfielderesque. He was easily the Man of the Match for Orlando on the night and a reunion with Cristian Higuita and Sebas Mendez as the starting trio can’t come soon enough. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this passing chart as much as I do:

View post on imgur.com

The Other Half

I won’t argue that his game was without flaws last night, because it wasn’t, but Lamine Sané is still showing himself to be a useful player when healthy and paired with someone with whom he has time to build chemistry. Sané got caught of two minds on the Union’s first goal, starting with an intention of coming out to meet Monteiro, then changing his mind. This created uncertainty in Jansson, who strayed too far from Kacper Przybylko as a result, and ultimately it allowed both too much time for Monteiro to pass and too much space for Jansson to recover after. Sané also may have been able to make a desperation lunge to block the eventual Przybylko shot. (As an aside, I’ve seen nothing on replay that changes my initial opinion watching it live that Tesho Akindele was fouled to jump start that play, although I have only the highlight package to go on, so you can’t really get a good look at the players’ feet. I digress.)

Aside from that, Sané — playing like Oates without a Hall or Garfunkel without a Simon — managed two tackles, five clearances, three interceptions, and a blocked shot. His 95.8% passer rating was good, he completed all four of his long ball attempts, and even got in a cross. In fact, as part of O’Connor having Orlando still pursuing the match rather than just seeing it out, Sané even got forward a few times, winning a corner while taking on two Philadelphia defenders with the ball at his feet.

People tend to give Lamine stick largely because he earns nearly a million dollars a year. That’s not an indictment of Sané, nor is it his fault. I’ll never begrudge a player making whatever he can get his boss to pay him. It just shows the wasteful nature of Orlando City’s previous regime. If the former Bundesliga man and Senegalese international were making half his current salary, most fans would likely be fine with the team’s investment in him.


That’s what stood out to me on a lightning-delayed night at Exploria Stadium. If you want a bonus takeaway it’s that I’d like to see another referee for a game against the Union (which we’ll get on Saturday). Chris Penso officiated both league games against Philadelphia last season — making three consecutive games against the Union he’s officiated — as well as the final meeting in 2015. Penso has given 12 yellow cards to Orlando, sending off three players in those four match-ups (two straight reds), to nine yellows for the Union. Eight of those yellow cards against Orlando came in one game, so those bad vibes have never gone away, even though Penso was completely justified in both red cards last night. However, I do think two Union players were extremely fortunate not to be booked early last night.

The good news is that although Orlando lost by two, we still haven’t seen one of those 3-0 or 4-0 howlers that have been all too common in recent years (the Lions suffered four of those last year, as well as 4-1 and 5-2 thrashings, and five in 2017 to go along with a 6-1 beatdown).

Incremental progress is still progress, although we’ll find out if that continues Saturday with an Orlando team that’ll be missing perhaps its best defender.

Anyway, let me know what you saw in the comments space below.

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/4/24

Orlando City falls to Charlotte FC in penalty shootout, Orlando Pride defeat the Seattle Reign, Megan Montefusco retires and more.

Published

on

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I covered high school cross country state semifinals over the weekend, and I’m getting ready to cover a high school soccer playoff match later this week. We have plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Lose Penalty Shootout to Charlotte FC

Orlando City fell 3-1 on penalties to Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium on Friday night after playing to a scoreless draw in Game 2 of the MLS Cup playoffs. Orlando’s offense struggled to create anything throughout the match in the attack. The best chance came late in the second half when Facundo Torres thought he had scored the game-winner for Orlando, but the assistant referee deemed him to be offside. In the penalty shootout, Luis Muriel was the only Lion to find the back of the net. Nico Lodeiro and Duncan McGuire had their penalty kicks saved by Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, while Robin Jansson’s kick sailed over the net. The Lions will host Charlotte FC in Game 3 at Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday with a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals on the line.

Orlando Pride Defeat the Seattle Reign in Regular Season Finale

The Orlando Pride snapped their two-match losing streak and defeated the Seattle Reign 3-2 to close out the 2024 NWSL regular season. Ally Watt, Kerry Abello, and Marta all scored for the Pride. Even though the Reign fought back to keep it close, Orlando held on for the win. The Pride finished the regular season first in the NWSL standings with 60 points. The Pride will take on the Chicago Red Stars in the quarterfinals of the 2024 NWSL playoffs on Friday in their first home playoff match ever. The match will kick off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video.

Megan Montefusco Announces Retirement

Orlando Pride defender Megan Montefusco will retire from professional soccer following the 2024 season. She’s played in the NWSL since 2015 and joined the Pride prior to the 2022 season. In her time in Orlando, Montefusco made 45 appearances for Orlando and scored in a 2023 Challenge Cup match against NJ/NY Gotham FC. She did not play in any matches in the 2024 season after undergoing foot surgery during the off-season and was placed on the season-ending injury list. Montefusco finishes her career with 179 appearances, scoring three goals and adding four assists across all competitions.

MLS Playoff Roundup

The first round of the MLS Cup playoffs continued over the weekend, with a few teams booking their spot in the next round. The Columbus Crew’s title defense ended after they lost 5-4 on penalties to the New York Red Bulls after a 2-2 draw. The LA Galaxy dominated the Colorado Rapids 4-1 on the road to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. Minnesota United also moved on, defeating Real Salt Lake in a shootout after a 1-1 draw and the Loons will face the Galaxy. The Seattle Sounders edged past the Houston Dynamo 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to advance to the Western Conference semifinals as well.

New York City FC bounced back with a 3-1 win over FC Cincinnati, while Atlanta United did the same with a 2-1 victory over Inter Miami as both teams stayed alive to force a third game in their series. LAFC fell 3-0 on the road to the Vancouver Whitecaps in a match that included two own goals.

Free Kicks


That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City at Charlotte FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s road shootout loss to Charlotte FC?

Published

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City was offensively challenged in a 0-0 road draw at Charlotte FC and the ensuing penalties that decide who “wins” best-of-three, first-round playoff games. Those challenges included the shootout, in which the Lions made one measly spot kick on four attempts.

Let’s take a look at the individual performances in this disappointing penalty kick loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7 (MotM) — Orlando City might have lost in penalty kicks, but it only got that far thanks to a good night from Gallese. El Pulpo made three huge saves in the match to keep the Lions in the game. In addition to the saves, he did well in owning the box and distributing the ball. Gallese passed at a 76.5% rate on 17 passes with 27 touches. He was successful on four of his eight long balls. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to stop any of Charlotte’s three shots during penalties, guessing correctly once.

D, Rafael Santos, 5.5 — It was a mostly “blah” night for Santos. He was as anemic as the rest of the team in the first half, and most of the second half. He had the most touches of any player with 76, but only managed a 79.4% passing rate on 63 passes and struggled to get through balls to their intended targets to break lines. Santos was accurate on five of his 11 long balls and provided one cross. Defensively, he made two clearances and committed one foul. Santos came off for Kyle Smith in the 74th minute.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5— I know that Jansson is the captain, but perhaps having a center back go second during penalty kicks isn’t the best decision. When Jansson sent his kick well over the crossbar, he all but guaranteed the return match at Inter&Co Stadium next weekend, as Nico Lodeiro had already seen his attempt saved. He also earned a yellow card for a foul against Patrick Agyemang in the 34th minute. That was the bad stuff. On the good side of the ledger, Jansson had 68 touches, passed at 91.7% rate on 60 passes, and connected on one of his five long balls. Defensively, he recorded two tackles, two clearances, and two interceptions.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — Schlegel put in a decent shift on the back line. Defensively, he made three clearances, including one in the 26th minute to keep the ball away from Agyemang, and he made a crucial block in the box. Schlegel touched the ball 69 times with a passing rate of 91.4% on 58 passes, completing one of six long balls. He picked up a yellow card in second-half stoppage time which was his only foul committed.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 5.5 — It was a mixed bag for Thorhallsson in this match. He had one of the few shots taken by Orlando City, though it was not on target. He touched the ball 49 times and passed at an 88.6% rate on 35 passes. Thorhallsson had a few giveaways, although he also contributed two clearances on defense. He made way for David Brekalo in the 84th minute.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6.5 — Cartagena was his usual good self. He patrolled the defensive midfield, stopping potential attacks throughout the match. The Peruvian touched the ball 59 times and passed at an 88.5% rate on 52 passes. More importantly, he finished with four tackles and three clearances defensively. He was a big reason that Charlotte didn’t put the ball in the back of the net before the penalties.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — Araujo put in a solid shift alongside Cartagena. Overall, he was good on the night, though he wasn’t as clean as he usually is, coughing up the ball occasionally. Araujo is also good at earning fouls, drawing three in the match. He managed 67 touches, passed at an 88.1% rate on 59 passes, and was successful on four of his five long balls. Defensively, he recorded one tackle and three clearances.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5.5 — Angulo had the only shot attempt on target for the Lions in the match, coming on his only shot of the night. Frankly, there wasn’t much behind it, though. He managed 37 touches and passed at an 87.5% rate on 24 passes. He had the same problem that most of the offense had in this game. That problem was a lack of urgency in getting into the attack. It’s pretty telling that he didn’t manage to contribute any crosses. Angulo came off for Luis Muriel in the 88th minute.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 5.5 —  Ojeda was excellent in the first match against Charlotte, but he wasn’t really able to make a big difference in this one. It’s not that he was bad, as he passed at a 93.8% rate on 32 passes with a total of 40 touches. He connected on three of his four long balls and made three crosses. However, he did not take any shots nor provide any assists. Ojeda came off for Lodeiro in the 75th minute.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — Torres was average for most of the match. It wasn’t until Oscar Pareja made the late second-half substitutions that Torres really opened up. He didn’t manage to take a shot or provide an assist, though he did have one key pass. He passed at an 85.4% rate on 48 passes and connected on one of his four long balls. He was successful on one of his six crosses, most of which came late in the match. Torres had a bad giveaway in 49th minute that resulted in a chance for Agyemang, but it was saved by Gallese. Defensively, he contributed three clearances. Had the assistant referee’s flag stayed down for Lodeiro’s run, he would have scored a goal that likely would have pushed Orlando through to the next round, and although it was a well-struck shot, it ultimately doesn’t count.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 4.5 — Given how little offense Orlando City generated, it’s not surprising that Enrique didn’t do much in this match. The striker registered no shots or assists and only touched the ball 17 times. His passing rate wasn’t great at 44.4%, but to be fair, he only made nine passes. He managed to make one tackle and provide two clearances, committing one foul and drawing one foul. If you thought he was quiet in the previous match, he was practically invisible in this one. He was replaced by Duncan McGuire in the 56th minute.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (56’), 5 — McGuire provided a different look for Orlando City’s offense after coming on for Enrique, and he managed to get a shot off, though it wasn’t on target. He finished with just 15 touches, passing at a 55.6% rate on only nine passes. He contributed one clearance and one blocked shot on defense. Most importantly, his penalty kick was saved by Kristijan Kahlina to end the match. Overall, it was a forgettable performance, but his was by no means the only one.

D, Kyle Smith (75’), 5 — Smith came on in the 75th minute for Thorhallsson for defensive help. He seemed somewhat out of sync with his teammates, though he wasn’t horrible. He touched the ball 30 times and completed 78.3% of his 23 passes. Smith completed all three of his attempted long balls and had one key pass. He also didn’t record any defensive statistics in his time on the field. He did, however, help keep Charlotte off the board through the end of the match to send it to penalty kicks.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (75’), 5 — When Lodeiro replaced Ojeda, he was one of the subs that sparked the Lions’ offensive efforts. Though they didn’t get a goal, at least they looked dangerous in Charlotte’s half of the field. Lodeiro attempted four crosses, made one key pass, and was offside three times — this included the play that could have resulted in a late Torres goal. He touched the ball 20 times and completed 68.2% of his 22 passes. On the other hand, he got Orlando City off on the wrong foot in the penalty shootout when he left his shot too close to Kahlina and at a favorable height for the goalkeeper, who guessed correctly and made a good save.

D, David Brekalo (84’), N/A — Brekalo came on in the 88th minute for Thorhallsson as the Lions went to three center backs to see out the game. He only managed six touches, completing one of his two passes. However, he made two clearances, so that’s good.

F, Luis Muriel (88’), N/A — Muriel’s entrance was definitely too little, too late. He came on to help with penalty kicks, and he was the only one to score his attempt. He managed 10 touches and completed 100% of his seven passes.


That’s how I saw the individual performances in Friday’s loss for the Lions. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs Charlotte FC: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s shootout loss to Charlotte FC.

Published

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

For Orlando City, the first round of the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs has read something akin to the start of the classic Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities. In two games, the Lions truly have demonstrated what could be considered “the best of times and the worst of times,” following a 2-0 victory and now a 0-0 (1-3) shootout defeat in Charlotte.

After controlling the first match in the best-of-three series from the opening kick, Orlando City took to the road looking to close out the series. For the first hour of the match, the Lions seemed to be confused as to what the objective of a soccer match is — putting the ball in the net.

What follows are our five takeaways from a disappointing penalty kick defeat.

Gallese Was Excellent

Pedro Gallese, for me, was undoubtedly the Man of the Match, and I thought that he turned in one of his best performances of the season to keep Orlando City level after 90 minutes. On top of making several heroic saves, showcasing all of the acrobatic combinations that we have grown to expect from El Pulpo, Gallese was also instrumental in keeping his back line organized and compact while facing double digit set pieces — mainly corner kicks. Gallese also did not waffle in his decision making, choosing the proper times to come off his line and collect the ball.

After not facing many attempts in Game 1, Gallese was busier in Game 2 and constantly answered the bell. In the postseason, you cannot expect a better performance from a keeper.

Possession Without Purpose

If you just looked at the box score without watching the match, it would seem like the numbers suggest that Orlando controlled the game once again. Orlando won the possession battle 57%-43% and completed almost 150 more passes throughout the match than Charlotte FC completed (520-377). The possession numbers suggested that Orlando was even more in control in the first half (60.4%-39.6%) but statistics can be deceiving, especially if you do absolutely nothing with that possession, as Orlando did until the waining moments of the match.

We often hear that our team wants the possession to have purpose, but for a decent chunk of the game, it appeared as if Orlando was playing to try to protect a 2-0 aggregate score instead of pouncing on the opposition. The Lions are now faced with an elimination game and will have to get back to playing with purpose if they are to advance to the next round.

Offense Where Are You?

Orlando City failed to register a shot attempt in the first half and the Lions looked passive in their desire to get forward. It wasn’t until after the second-half substitutes had established themselves on the pitch that the team started to resemble the potent attacking force that fans saw in Game 1. Home-field advantage is great, but I felt like the passive nature of the team to start the match, which carried over until well after the hour mark, played right into Charlotte FC’s hands and game plan. The offense has to be better in Game 3 if Orlando City is to advance, and let’s be honest, it could hardly be much worse than three shot attempts and only one on target.

Offside? Are we Sure?

I try to take results at face value and not dwell on what could have been as there are so many individual decisions that occur in a match that it is hard to pinpoint one moment and say that it was the deciding action or call. Against Charlotte FC, in the waning moments of the match, second-half substitute Nico Lodeiro took a ball from Luis Muriel and slotted it into the box for Facundo Torres, who just needed a little space before he found the back of the net. In my living room, I literally jumped for joy only to have my wife point out the assistant referee and his stupid offside flag. As Dr. Seuss might say, “I do not like your stupid flag, I wish you kept it in a bag.” But the assistant referee did not keep it in the bag. He called Lodeiro offside in the buildup by what looked like the slightest of margins and the video assistant referee upheld the call.

I have watched the replay multiple times on Apple TV, although I have been hard pressed to see a clip of it anywhere online, and the more I watched it, the less convinced I am that Lodeiro was in an offside position. To me, I actually thought it was USMNT defender Tim Ream who kept Lodeiro onside. Nonetheless, the goal did not count, but if it had, this series would almost certainly be over.

Penalty Kick Woes

Game 2 against Charlotte FC demonstrated the dangers of what can happen during the playoffs if you don’t win in regulation. Finding success in penalty kick shootouts is not a given right in MLS, and while Orlando has enjoyed itself during trophy runs in the past, like in the buildup to the U.S. Open Cup victory, the same could not be said about the performance in Charlotte. Lodeiro and Jansson both missed to start things off and while Lodeiro’s attempt was at least on frame, it was a poor attempt. The team plane might land back in Florida before Jansson’s sky-high attempt comes back down to Earth. I do not want to see another shootout in the series, and I want to be very clear to the universe that I do not want to see another shootout, because I want Orlando City to win by a score of 4-1 in Game 3.


Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s Game 2 loss against Charlotte FC. The Lions will have a week to recover and retool before looking to close out the series at home on Nov. 9. What things stood out most to you from the match? Let us know in the comments below, and as always, vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Trending