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Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Final Score 4-3 as Nani Powers Lions to First Home Win

Nani’s brace led Orlando to a pair of comebacks in a wild, rain-soaked affair.

Published

6 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Lions finally got a home win in 2019, but it was anything but easy. Orlando needed to come from behind twice against the Colorado Rapids to grab a late 4-3 victory at Orlando City Stadium in front of 22,450 on a rainy night.

The Rapids (0-4-2, 2 points) grabbed leads of 1-0 and 3-2 in the match but the resilient Lions were a threat to score all night and eventually put enough goals on the board to win the match when Nani converted a penalty in the 89th minute to lift City (2-2-2, 8 points) to the team’s first home win of the season. Orlando is still unbeaten in the series with the Rapids, improving to 4-0-1 in five meetings (3-0-0 in Orlando).

“You don’t want to be conceding three goals,” said Head Coach James O’Connor after the match. “As exciting and entertaining as it is for everybody to win — and it is, it’s great — but we don’t want to be like that every week. I certainly don’t.”

“Tonight was fantastic because we had so many opportunities and most of them we put inside the goal,” said Nani.

O’Connor made a few changes to the lineup, dropping center back Shane O’Neill and pushing Carlos Ascues to right center back. Tesho Akindele returned from his hamstring issue to start up top next to Dom Dwyer at forward. Nani slid back to the midfield alongside Sebas Mendez, Sacha Kljestan, and wingbacks Ruan and Joao Moutinho.

After the first six minutes were played between the penalty areas, both teams started attacking. Moutinho’s cross into the box in the sixth was the first good opportunity of the game, but it was knocked out for a corner by the defense. Two minutes later, Ruan sent a dangerous cross into the box that was deflected out by a defender but only as far as Kljestan, who had his shot blocked.

A minute later, the Rapids took the lead. Kei Kamara (who else?) pounced to make it 1-0. Dillon Serna’s cross into the box went about an inch over the head of a leaping Sané. Jansson didn’t expect the ball to get through and it bounced off his head and fell in behind, where Kamara won the race to the loose ball and poked it past Brian Rowe in the ninth minute.

The teams then exchanged set piece opportunities. After Dwyer saw a header blocked at the back post, the Rapids nearly scored on a direct free kick, but Keegan Rosenberry’s effort went just wide.

Orlando kept attacking up the wings and nearly scored in the 21st. Moutinho got to the end line and crossed in for Dwyer, but Deklan Wynne deflected it off his own goal post. Shortly after that, the Lions changed shape after Ascues went down with an apparent leg injury. Uri Rosell came on and slotted into the midfield with Orlando going four at the back.

The Lions equalized in the 31st minute, as Nani opened his Orlando City account. Ruan somehow nutmegged teammate Akindele just a couple yards in front of goal with a sizzling cross. Moutinho gathered it at the other side of the area and crossed it in for Nani to head home .

Colorado tried to pull that goal back quickly, earning a corner kick in the 33rd minute. But it was Orlando City that capitalized. The Lions cleared the cross out to Ruan, who blazed down the pitch on the counter attack. He crossed to Dwyer, who fired and saw his shot well saved by a diving Tim Howard, but it fell to the feet of Akindele, who roofed the ball just under the crossbar to make it 2-1 with his second goal of the season.

The Ruan Show continued for the rest of the half. First, he turned Nicolas Mezquida inside out with a dribble (the man has a family, Ruan!) and then drew a yellow card on Kamara, who tried to pull him back by the shirt. Then the speedy Brazilian blew past Serna, only to overcook his cross, hitting it over everyone.

Moutinho’s long ball in the 43rd minute sent Nani down the left. The Portuguese star found Dwyer in the box. Dom had trouble digging the ball out of his feet, but did manage to turn and shoot, but it was blocked. Two minutes later, Dwyer found space at the top of the area and got his shot on frame, but Howard made another diving save, sticking out a palm to keep it 2-1 at the break.

Orlando led in shots at the break, 7-5 (4-2 on target). Colorado had the edge in possession (54.5%-45.5%) and passing accuracy (82.1%-74.9%).

Unfortunately, Mother Nature reared her ugly head at the half, with a delay due to lightning in the area lasting an hour before the game restarted.

The Rapids were by far the more energetic team after the long delay, holding possession, winning balls off sloppy midfield passes, and trying to hit quickly on the counter. Rowe stopped a header from Kellyn Acosta in the 47th minute.

Orlando fizzed a couple crosses dangerously through the box after that, but defender Axel Sjoberg blocked Ruan’s pass and Nani’s went harmlessly out the other side as no Lions made a run after he mesmerized the defense out on the left side.

Rowe made a big save to deny Kamara in the 59th off a dangerous cross by Keegan Rosenberry on a play that should have — but didn’t — serve as a warning sign for the Orlando defense in the second half. Two minutes later, Rosenberry got down the right channel on the counter and picked out Mezquida, who scored on a free header in the 61st minute to make it 2-2.

Ten minutes later, the visitors took the lead. Benny Feilhaber played a ball across left to right to Cole Bassett, who faked as if he would drive to his right. Once Jansson committed, Bassett cut back inside on his left foot and curled a shot around Rowe to make it 3-2 Colorado.

As the game moved into the late stages, Nani went down in the penalty area after contact with Acosta. Referee Jair Marrufo saw no foul there, and a heated exchange took place between the two midfielders, but ultimately it was much ado about nothing.

Dwyer headed a ball right at Howard from just a few yards out in the 79th, and it started to look like Orlando would fall at home again. But then O’Connor introduced Chris Mueller for Mendez in the 80th, and he once again lifted the team with his energy.

A minute after coming on, Mueller scored. Moutinho threw in the ball in the final third. It took a high bounce and Nani headed it toward goal. Akindele stuck out a leg and helped it on with a back heel and Mueller collected it, then slotted it home through Howard to tie the game at 3-3 in the 81st minute.

“I just tried to stay alive,” Mueller said. “The ball kind of floated into the box. I think it was Tesho that went up with one of the defenders. It kind of took a weird bounce. I took it down and just kept the ball low, tried to get it on target, and it ended up going right through the goalie’s legs.”

O’Connor spoke after the game about his decision to bring Mueller off the bench as a sub yet again.

“We sat down with Chris and I just said to him, ‘Listen, you’re not going to start this one,’” O’Connor said. “I said, ‘You’re really unlucky.’ But we just felt that there was potential for Chris to be able to come off the bench and impact the game like he has. And when you have a weapon like that and you look at the way the game may go or may not go, the biggest decision for us is, do we start him?

The easiest thing for us to do is start Chris tonight. Everyone would have expected it, including them (the Rapids) to start the game. But when we looked at it, we thought we needed to be brave and we needed to maybe follow what our gut instinct was and bring him off the bench. Now when he goes and he does something like that (score), it’s incredible.”

The goal only urged the Lions on even more. Two minutes after Mueller’s goal, Ruan flashed a cross through the area that was just inches out of Dwyer’s reach at the back post, with a wide-open net in front of him. Four minutes later, another Ruan cross turned the game in Orlando’s favor. The Brazilian sent one into the area that Sjoberg tried to block with his head, but it ended up hitting his arm as well and Marrufo pointed to the spot even as Dwyer improbably missed an empty net from just a couple yards away. Nani stepped up to the spot, sent Howard the wrong way, and coolly completed his brace in the 89th minute, putting Orlando up, 4-3.

“It’s always good to score goals for the team,” said Nani shortly after netting his first two as a Lion. “It’s always good to help, but obviously it’s not the most important. We wanted to win for our fans. What they’ve been doing all (these) weeks is fantastic. I never saw that in my life. I’ve been playing for many teams, and when the things are not going well, everyone knows how the fans normally react. These fans, they are special, so I wanted so badly to help the team to win and tonight we are very happy because we did and it was a great game, a fantastic game for our team.”

The Lions saw out the final minute, plus four minutes of injury time, without allowing Colorado an opportunity to equalize, and the whistle signaled the end of Orlando’s first 2019 home victory.

City out-shot the Rapids, 16-10 (8-6 on target), with possession finishing about evenly split at 50/50. Colorado did pass slightly better (80%-76%) in the game.

O’Connor praised his star man after the match following Nani’s two-goal, one-assist performance.

“When you look at Nani, he’s a world-class player. We’re blessed to have somebody like that,” he said. “I think it shows you his professionalism and his mentality to have a reaction like that tonight. He’s got a phenomenal leap first half, scored a great header. And then the composure to take the penalty. He was cool as a cucumber and just slid it into the corner. I think when you look at his play and his experience and the way he’s trying to help the players it’s — as we’ve always said — very, very encouraging. It’s not just the technical aspect. It’s the leadership that he shows as well.”

Orlando City will travel west next weekend to take on Real Salt Lake in Utah on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.

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Orlando City

How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively

How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.

Published

17 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.

Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.

Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:

The purpose of this image is a table to show how Atlanta United lined up in 2024 (mostly in a 4-2-3-1 but also in one of six other formations).

I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.

Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):

Table embedded as an image showing Orlando City doing best in goal differential in 12 games against three-man back lines, second best against four-man back lines, and having played once against a five-man back line (a 1-1 draw).

Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.

Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.

That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy four defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus eight goal differential for the season.

It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.

If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.

While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy three defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus three goal differential for the season.

I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!

Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to get a victory to advance to the Eastern Conference final?

Published

19 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continues its playoff journey against Atlanta United Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions are coming off an emotional penalty shootout win over Charlotte FC in their best-of-three, first-round series. Likewise, Atlanta United stunned everyone by taking out Inter Miami to advance in its own best-of-three matchup. Now, the rivals meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

What does Orlando City need to do to get past Atlanta United to advance to the Easter Conference final?

Beat Guzan

Brad Guzan made 16 saves over Atlanta’s three matches against Inter Miami, including seven in the 3-2 win on the road in Game 3. The 40-year-old former USMNT keeper is in excellent form and is a big reason why the Five Stripes are facing Orlando City. Converting chances against Guzan will be crucial to earning a result. There have been times this season when the Lions have struggled to convert their chances. Despite that, the team has done enough offensively to get to this point. Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and others have contributed and will need to do so this weekend.

Cartagena is Essential

Orlando City lost twice to Atlanta United during the regular season. What is interesting, and perhaps relevant, is that Wilder Cartagena was out for both of those matches. Cartagena was shown a straight red in the match against Minnesota United prior to the first match against Atlanta way back in March. He was shown a yellow card in the match against FC Cincinnati and then served a yellow card accumulation suspension for the final match of the season against Atlanta. Fortunately for Orlando City, Cartagena will be available for the match this weekend. I’ve mentioned before the importance of Cartagena to Orlando City’s success. When he and Cesar Araujo are on the field together, the defense is simply better. Cartagena is frankly one of the better defensive midfielders in MLS. Atlanta scored five goals in the series against Miami, and Orlando will need to keep the visitors from having that kind of offensive success.

Overcome the Past

That darn international break in the middle of the playoffs is something I don’t love. More precisely, I don’t like it because Orlando City often struggles after a break. It would have been nice if Orlando City could have ridden the momentum from the penalty kick victory into the Atlanta match, but that’s not to be. Now is the time for Orlando City to break some bad habits, including turning around its historical lack of success against Atlanta, and tendency to struggle in the first match after a break. Oscar Pareja needs to have the players in the right frame of mind, and the players need to execute the plan. A full house of supporters can also make a difference. Given it’s a Sunday afternoon match, there’s no reason not to pack the house.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday afternoon. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 11/21/24

Marta’s chance to shine in NWSL Championship, NWSL and MLS award winners announced, 2025 SheBelieves Cup details, and more.

Published

23 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been spending most of this week plotting out some holiday shopping to make things a little less stressful for myself over the next few weeks. A big weekend filled with Orlando soccer awaits us, so make sure to get any errands or obligations out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

There are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit, including Marta’s opportunity to put an exclamation point on what has been an excellent season for the Pride. Orlando has been enjoying the fruits of its labor this season after a rebuild over the past few years that’s included plenty of change in the City Beautiful. Marta has been a constant, however, enduring some difficult seasons since joining the Pride and adapting her game She’s scored in both of the Pride’s playoff games so far and has a chance to author a storybook ending on Saturday.

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was named 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out the Pride’s Anna Moorhouse and Utah Royals FC’s Mandy Haught for the honor. It was Berger’s first year in the NWSL and she’s the first European player to win the award. She only conceded 16 goals across her 22 matches for Gotham this season and was a key reason behind her team’s success. I’m not too surprised that Moorhouse did not win, considering how solid the Pride’s defense was as a whole, but this won’t take anything away from a record-breaking season for her.

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy was voted 2024 MLS Coach of the Year after a historic season in which the Crew set club records in both points and goals. The Crew also won the Leagues Cup this summer and their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign included advancing past Tigres and Monterrey en route to the final. This is Nancy’s first time being named Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the award every year since 2021. The Frenchman received 40.02% of the vote, winning the award over Inter Miami’s Gerardo Martino and Colorado Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas.

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

The 10th annual SheBelieves Cup will take place next year and the tournament will return to its usual format where each of the four teams plays each other once. The United States Women’s National Team will host Japan, Colombia, and Australia in February in what should be an exciting tournament. The U.S. will take on Colombia on Feb. 20 in Houston before facing Australia in Arizona on Feb. 23 and finishing the tournament on Feb. 26 against Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These games will also be the first domestic games of 2025 for the USWNT as it prepares to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

FC Dallas announced that Eric Quill will become the team’s next head coach. Quill joins Dallas after a great year with New Mexico United that included trips to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and USL Championship Western Conference semifinals. It’s also a reunion of sorts for Quill, as he previously coached North Texas SC and was named USL League One Coach of the Year with the club in 2019. Dallas missed out on the playoffs this season, with Peter Luccin coaching the team on an interim basis after the firing of Nico Estevez in June.

Free Kicks

  • District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to a bet involving this weekend’s NWSL Championship, with embarrassing lightshows on the line.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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