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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Earn Another Road Point

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2 years ago

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After falling behind on a Carles Gil goal, Orlando City showed some fight and earned another road point in a 1-1 draw against the New England Revolution. The Lions (6-5-4, 22 points) had opportunities to break the deadlock after Robin Jansson tied the match but couldn’t push another goal past the Revs (5-5-5, 20 points) as they remain winless in their history at Gillette Stadium (0-5-2).

Orlando is winless in its last eight league matches against the Revs going 0-4-4 in the regular-season series since September of 2017. That record falls to 0-5-4 when including the playoff loss to New England after the 2020 season.

Still, it was an important road result for the Lions, who stand at 3-1-4 with 13 points of a possible 24 away from Exploria Stadium this season.

“I think it was a game well played. We have the sensation that it could have been more than a point,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We found in New England today, a team that wanted to play the transitions with players who were dangerous there. And I think we controlled them, but well-played by the players. The effort after 16 days without playing was much, much better and the rhythm was better than I thought and we’ll be ready for the next one.”

Pareja’s lineup was a bit unusual coming off the international break. Pedro Gallese, who played 120 minutes — plus a penalty shootout — on Monday in Qatar, not only made it back but started in goal. His back line was only three-quarters of the usual group, with Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, and Rodrigo Schlegel joined by Kyle Smith rather than Ruan. Junior Urso slid back into central midfield with Cesar Araujo after playing several games as a winger. Jake Mulraney started in the attacking midfield line with Mauricio Pereyra and Facundo Torres, while Alexandre Pato was a surprise starter over Designated Player Ercan Kara up top.

Pareja said it wasn’t an easy decision to start Gallese over Adam Grinwis after the Peruvian played Monday and spent half a day on a plane. However, Gallese beat the team to the hotel and made sure he was available.

As is typical with trips to New England, the Lions spent the early minutes getting used to the turf and as a result there were some passing miscues and poor touches. The Revs got the first opportunity three minutes in when Gustavo Bou fired from the right and although his shot appeared to be heading just wide, Gallese took no chances and knocked it behind for a corner. Nothing came of the ensuing set piece.

Bou got in behind the defense in the 12th minute. He didn’t make much contact with the entry ball, but he got a touch and Gallese did well to get down and make the save.

The first good scoring chance for Orlando took place in the 21st minute. Pato worked his way left to right across the top of the box and smashed a shot on target. The shot was a bit too central, which allowed Djordje Petrovic to make a good save. Moutinho found the handle and took a shot on the ensuing corner, but he hit Urso and the ball took an unfortunate bounce, allowing the Revs to counter.

Bou got around Araujo, who slid on the turf and was slow to recover when trying to block a pass, allowing the forward to get past. The ball cycled left to right to Gil and Mulraney played way too far off the Designated Player, who took his time, lined up his shot, and curled one just inside the upper left corner to make it 1-0 in the 22nd minute.

Orlando looked to pull that goal right back when Pato was fouled just outside the area. Pereyra took the free kick and sent a too-soft shot that gave Petrovic no trouble at all.

Bou was left in too much space in the 29th minute and fired a shot that didn’t miss by much.

Orlando pulled level in the 35th minute off a corner kick scramble. The ball fell to Jansson on the left and the defender dribbled toward the end line and smashed a shot from a tough angle that found its way just inside the right post to make it 1-1.

“I came at the back post after Rodri hit the ball on one of their guys, and then I picked up the rebound and just tried to get it past the first defender there,” Jansson said. “And then one-touched on the left and then hard between the legs on the goalkeeper. So yeah, I’m happy about that.”

New England lost midfielder Matt Polster to concussion protocol late in the half after a scary head-to-head clash with Schlegel. Tommy McNamara replaced Polster, while Schlegel was able to continue. Neither team was able to create another good chance in the remaining time before the break.

The Revs held more of the possession in the first half (53.6%-46.4%) and won more corners (6-3), but Orlando had more shots (9-4), with each team getting three attempts on target. The teams were just about even in terms of passing accuracy, with the Revs holding a slim 84.7%-83.3% edge.

Orlando looked good out of the break, getting more of the early second-half chances. Urso had an early shot blocked and it ended up with Torres, who got his shot on target but Petrovic made the save in the 48th minute. Two minutes later, a great ball from Mulraney nearly found Pato, but Andrew Farrell did some emergency defending to deny the ball to the Orlando forward.

The Lions should have had a free kick from just outside the area in the 57th minute due to a handball near the top of the box. The referee didn’t call it live and, because it wasn’t in the box, it was outside the jurisdiction of video review to correct.

New England’s first good chance of the half came on a set piece in the 63rd minute. Brandon Bye found himself with a free header as a backpedaling Moutinho couldn’t quite get to him. But the defender’s header skipped wide of the right post. Two minutes later, Jozy Altidore sent a shot from outside the area high above the crossbar. New England then had a number of crosses and set pieces during a spell in which the Lions struggled to hold possession.

The next decent chance for either side came in the 78th minute when Bye headed wide again.

Orlando’s best chance to find a winner came in the 80th minute. Smith found a loose ball on the right off a long Moutinho throw and sent a spinning shot on target, but Petrovic made a vital save to keep the match even.

The Lions survived a couple of late set pieces and the game finished all knotted up.

The Revs finished with more possession (53.3%-46.7%), corners (10-6), and passing accuracy (84.3%-84.1%), but the Lions had more shots (13-9) and shots on target (5-3).

Orlando was content with the result but realize that more points were there to be had. But the Lions did well to mostly contain the Revs’ strong counterattack.

“They came in a lot of transitions, and we knew before the game that they are strong in that (area) and they have some good players up there,” Jansson said. “You can see on their goal the quality of Gil there, but I think the longer the first half went, I think we started to control it a little bit better and then started to get better control of our game too. So, in the second half, I think we had some good scoring chances too. I think we created some chances and then we we started to get more control in the defense too.”

The Lions have a short turnaround with the Houston Dynamo visiting Exploria Stadium on Saturday night.

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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.

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4 hours ago

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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

6 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.

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10 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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