Orlando City vs. Minnesota United: Five Takeaways

Well that was entertaining! Orlando City looked less than its best for large stretches of the game, and the unfamiliar shape didn’t look to be doing the team any favors. The boys found a way to get the job done though, and with the 2-1 win, the Lions remain undefeated on the road this season. What follows are my five big thoughts from an exciting win.

Back Three Backfires

It was a little surprising to see Oscar Pareja deploy the Lions with a three-man back line from the jump. Antonio Carlos got his first start of the year as he and Rodrigo Schlegel flanked Robin Jansson, who took the central spot. It was not a strategy that worked well for most of the game, especially early. Neither Gaston Gonzalez or Ivan Angulo are wingbacks and it showed. The Loons had plenty of joy attacking down the flanks in the first half as there was lots of space to run into down on the wings, and when the opening goal came it was because Schlegel failed to track the run of Hassani Dotson in behind him, and once Dotson crossed the ball, Angulo’s marking of Bongokuhle Hlongwane at the back post was poor. When the attack came through the center of the pitch, things looked solid, but OCSC was unable to deal with danger from out wide.

Antonio Carlos Returns

It was nice to see Carlos make his first start of the season though. Although he didn’t cover himself in glory on Minnesota’s goal, he largely looked steady and solid, and wasn’t asked to do anything too crazy in his first 90-minute appearance back on the field. He also committed the late foul on Robin Lod that gave Minnesota a great chance to equalize, but it came to nothing and aside from that there wasn’t too much to complain about in his performance. One of the nice things to have back in the lineup was his range of passing, as he completed seven of the nine long balls he attempted, including the long switch that led to the tying goal, and having him and Jansson both spraying passes from deep adds a different dimension to the team, especially if speedsters like Ramiro Enrique and Duncan McGuire are up top. His return has taken awhile, but it’s going to be great having him back.

Great Glimpses of Offense

For much of the game, the Lions were stymied once the ball got into the final third. As has often been the case up to this point in the season, the final ball seemed to be lacking and Orlando couldn’t create much in the way of clean looks at goal. That was not at all the case on the equalizer though. Gonzalez, Mauricio Pereyra and Martin Ojeda combined flawlessly down the left, and it was an excellent passage of play that ended with Angulo smashing the ball past Dayne St. Clair. It was the kind of move that we haven’t seen very often from OCSC up to this point and it was wonderful to see. It was a glimpse of the type of soccer this team is capable of playing, and hopefully its a sign of things to come.

El Pulpo Plays His Part

Pedro Gallese played his part in helping get OCSC over the line. He made a fantastic save towards the end of each half. In the 41st minute, he denied Jeong Sang-Bin to help keep the score level, and he wasn’t done there. In the 85th minute, he absolutely stonewalled Franco Fragapane from close range with the Argentine clean through on goal. That save also kept the score level, and it proved to be a big one as McGuire nodded home the winner just three minutes later to seal the points for the Lions. In a game where he did his bit, it was awesome to see the offense help him out and give Orlando City fans a happy Saturday night.

Resilience on the Road

For most of the 90 minutes, this was not a game the Lions looked likely to get a result out of, much less win. While OCSC finished with 55% of the ball, the hosts were the team who used it more dangerously, and Minnesota outright spurned at least three fantastic chances by not even getting the ball on target. Orlando came up big when it mattered though, and it was great to see a quick response after going down a goal. The winner was just as sweet, and I particularly enjoyed the nifty play between Luca Petrasso and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson during the buildup. The long and short of it is that Orlando was able to hang tough in a game that it mostly looked second-best in and continued its excellent form on the road.

It was far from pretty for the most part, but a win is a win, and it was great to come out of a 14-day break the right way. Next up is bogey team D.C. United back at Exploria Stadium, and I, for one, think it would be really nice to beat Wayne Rooney for once. What did you all make of the game? Be sure to have your say down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!