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

Orlando City’s struggles at home continued in a 3-1 loss to D.C. United at Exploria Stadium. Unlike last weekend against Minnesota United, the Lions weren’t able to mount a comeback despite another goal from Duncan McGuire. While the Lions didn’t play poorly for most of the match, they had a couple of defensive lapses and weren’t clinical enough on the attacking end to get a result. Here are my five takeaways from another loss at home.

Orlando Runs, Then Limps, On Duncan

Rookie Duncan McGuire got the start up top for the Lions and impressed yet again. He scored his third goal of the season to equalize for Orlando in the first half. Martin Ojeda zipped him a great ball and his first touch was perfect to give himself enough time and space to slot his shot past Tyler Miller. It was a great goal, but he also impressed with his hustle off the ball as well. Unfortunately, his night was cut short by an injury away from the run of play that required him to exit. Although he was able to walk off the field under his own power, it’s a worrying thing to see, considering he now leads the Lions in scoring.

D.C. United’s Stars Shine

All three of D.C. United’s Designated Players had a goal contribution in this one. Taxiarchis Fountas had a hat trick at Exploria Stadium last year and continued to torment Orlando fans by beating Pedro Gallese on the counter to open the scoring. Mateusz Klich delivered the assist from the corner flag on D.C.’s second goal and Christian Benteke grew his team’s lead with a goal that will likely be a Goal of the Matchday contender. Benteke in particular gave Orlando headaches with his hold-up play. The Lions weren’t able to keep D.C.’s stars in check and paid the price, conceding more than twice for the first time this season.

Three’s a Crowd

The Lions rolled out their same back line as the one used in Minnesota, with a trio of center backs in Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Antonio Carlos. However, there was no comeback win to overshadow the defensive struggles this time around. Benteke would win possession and then exploit the ample space the center backs had to concede to find quick players like Ruan and Fountas. When the wingers go up to contribute in the attack, the defense is left vulnerable and the defenders have struggled in terms of reliably covering the space with one another. Jansson overcommitted out wide on D.C.’s first goal while Carlos was still sprinting back to defend, and no center backs were in the same time zone as Donovan Pines on his header at the near post. It feels wrong to say that three talented center backs who have played together for years are worse off when all on the field together, but they certainly looked out of sorts at times. The return of the team’s fullbacks, who were absent in this game except for substitute Rafael Santos and backup Kyle Smith, should help the defense in the future.

A Tale of Two Wingers

After contributing towards both of Orlando’s goals last weekend, Ivan Angulo wasn’t able to replicate his recent success in this match. His worst moment was the turnover in the center of the field that led to D.C.’s first goal. His 65 touches were tied with Torres for the most on the team, but Angulo wasn’t able to create many chances with them and had no shots or key passes. Only one of his nine crosses were accurate and some of the misses ended Orlando’s possession and stalled its momentum. This match was an opportunity for him to show consistency, but this was a much different performance from him compared to his outing in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, fellow winger Gaston Gonzalez seems to be on an upswing. Granted, he had similar struggles as Angulo in terms of creating chances, but he looked a bit sharper while powering up and down Orlando’s left wing than in past games. Gonzalez also had two great opportunities in the box by getting his head onto a pair of crosses and won a foul from a good position late in the match. He needs to continue improving in some areas, namely crossing and finishing, but there were plenty of encouraging signs from him that bode well for the future.

Lions’ Offense Spins Its Wheels

McGuire’s injury is especially concerning because Orlando’s offense couldn’t find the back of the net without him. To be clear, Orlando’s Designated Players weren’t bad in this match. Ojeda’s assist on McGuire’s goal was pinpoint, Facundo Torres delivered some great crosses for teammates at the far post, and Ercan Kara made some good runs as a substitute. Yet, they couldn’t claw Orlando back into this match. Although not all on the field at the same time, Orlando had all of its DPs and U22 Initiative players in action and only managed one goal. Like a sports car stuck in mud, the offense looked good but didn’t get anywhere in the end. The Lions are going to have to find a way to turn this talent into more goals.

D.C. continues to be a thorn in Orlando’s side, but at least the Lions won’t have to face Wayne Rooney’s side again this regular season. Make sure to let me know your thoughts on the team’s loss. The Lions will aim to right the ship with another home match on Saturday against the LA Galaxy.