Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

After a late winner last week in Minnesota, Orlando City returned to Exploria Stadium to host D.C. United. Duncan McGuire scored the match winner last week and earned the start up top for this match. It started as an even affair but ultimately finished in a 3-1 home loss. Here is how we saw the Lions perform in Saturday’s home defeat.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5 — El Pulpo gave up three goals, but none were really his own fault. His teammates put him in an unfortunate 1-v-1 situation for the first goal, he had an unmarked runner bury a corner kick header, and Christian Benteke turned on Rodrigo Schlegel from short range. Gallese faced nine shots with five of them on target. He recorded two saves in the game and was tested with an expected goals against of 1.9. Gallese completed 76.2% of his passes and two of five long balls.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 4.5 — In the 15th minute, Schlegel left his other two center backs to step up on Benteke. While it proves his work rate, it unfortunately left Robin Jansson on an island with Ruan sprinting down field on the ball and Taxi Fountas over his shoulder, leading to the first D.C. United goal. Schlegel was also the last line of defense on the third D.C. goal when Benteke chested down a ball in the box and turned on a dime, while firing a powerful strike into the back of the net. As one of three in the back, Schlegel passed at an 66.7% clip including two accurate long balls on five attempts. He committed two fouls on the night and recorded three tackles and one clearance.

D, Robin Jansson, 5 — Jansson was part of the initial error that led to the first D.C. United goal. He likely should have stayed central instead of leaving Fountas for Ruan, which ultimately let Fountas in behind and unmarked but he was only put in that position due to a turnover. Jansson went the full 90 minutes and completed 88.9% of his 36 passes on the night. The Viking played one successful long ball pass on four attempts. Jansson did not log a single defensive statistic aside from committing two fouls.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6.5 — Antonio Carlos earned his second start of the season and put in a great shift for the Lions, despite being part of a back line which conceded three goals. He was instrumental in creating the only Orlando City goal with a strong sliding tackle at midfield which fell to Ojeda, and ultimately McGuire, for the score. Carlos even fired off three shots of his own on the night, with one being dangerously close to scoring on a set piece header. Carlos completed 95.4% of his 43 passes on the night and logged an impressive six successful long balls in the match on just seven attempts. Defensively, he had one tackle and five clearances, while committing only one foul, which earned a yellow card in the 56th minute.

MF, Gaston Gonzalez, 6.5 — Gonzalez might have finally shown us what he can bring to the table for the club. He had a lively first half up and down the flank. He kept a speedy Ruan at bay, and he found himself springing a couple Orlando attacks as well. While you won’t see any groundbreaking statistics from Gonzalez, he played his role well on the night and that is all we can really ask of him. Gonzalez completed 65.2% of his 23 passes and crossed the ball accurately once out of six times. He also attempted three unsuccessful long balls. Gonzalez’s only shot for the night was on target. From a defensive standpoint, he offered three tackles, an interception, a clearance, and committed one foul. Gonzalez found himself fouled twice.

MF, Maurico Pereyra, 5.5 — The maestro found pockets of space centrally throughout the night where he was able to distribute and release the front three attackers. He took a seat on the turf in the 68th minute and left the match early for Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. He found himself on the ball 59 times and completed 77.1% of his 48 passes. He was accurate on three of six long balls and whipped in three crosses. Defensively, Pereyra logged a tackle, an interception, and a foul — drawing one of his own.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 5.5 — Araujo went down on the corner kick that became D.C. United’s second goal of the night after being overpowerd by Donovan Pines. He appealed for a foul, but it was never going to be given, and Pines buried the header into the Orlando goal. Araujo passed at a 93.2% clip on the night, recorded a key pass, and completed three of his six long balls. Additionally, Araujo drew two fouls while committing two of his own. He logged two successful tackles in the match.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5 — Angulo continues to show his pace and ability to build the attack wide and near the end line. However, it was not enough to best Pedro Santos who proved to be a formidable defender for the speedy winger. If Orlando is going to find goals from the wing, it will need more accurate crossing from Angulo. He only had one accurate cross on eight attempts. Angulo passed at 90% rate and was accurate with his only long ball. Defensively, Angulo recorded one tackle and a foul, although he too was fouled. Angulo earned an early yellow card in the 27th minute. His giveaway put the back three in a bad spot and led to the first goal conceded.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6 — The Uruguayan Young Designated Player had a mixed bag of a match. He often found himself on the ball, but he never seemed to inspire much of the attack on his own in the first half. Once Ojeda and Pereyra left the match, Torres became the link the team needed but it was a little too late as the club was already playing catch up. Going the full 90 for Orlando, Torres passed at 87.9% accuracy, went 5-for-6 on crossing accuracy, 2-for-2 on long-ball accuracy, and had a team-high four key passes. He put one of his two shots on target. Torres drew one foul in the match.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — As the ball fell to his feet following a Carlos tackle, Ojeda pinged a perfect through ball to McGuire for the assist on Orlando’s only goal. He likely could have had a goal of his own after receiving a pass in the six-yard box, but his feet just didn’t register with the speed of his brain and after his slick flick to free himself for the shot, the touch was heavy and bounced to the goalkeeper. He completed 73.7% of his 19 passes, had two key passes, and was accurate on one of three crossing attempts, but none of his three long balls. He was dispossessed once and had two unstable touches. Defensively, he recorded an interception and one clearance on the night. Ojeda made way for Ercan Kara late in the match as Oscar Pareja threw the kitchen sink at the attack with two fresh strikers.

F, Duncan McGuire, 7 (MotM) — All McGuire does is score against D.C. United. He did it in the first match at Audi Field and did it again in the 23rd minute at Exploria Stadium. McGuire found himself played in by Ojeda and made a clinical first touch to split the defenders and slot the ball under Tyler Miller at the top of the 18-yard box. Aside from opening the scoring for the Lions, McGuire played a pressing role and kept the D.C. back line under pressure and looked to receive long balls from the Orlando City defenders throughout the night. McGuire left the match early in the second half with what appeared to be an off-the-ball injury. He was one-for-one with his shots, as he scored on the only one he took. He completed 44.4% of his nine passes with 20 touches. He was fouled once and logged an interception and two clearances. McGuire was subbed off in the 52nd minute for Ramiro Enrique.

Substitutes

F, Ramiro Enrique (52′), 4.5 — Enrique came on for an injured McGuire early in the second half but never logged a shot. With his five touches, he completed all four of his passes and was fouled once. To have logged almost an entire half, it is disappointing that he could not find the ball more than five times while his team was attempting to find a way back into the match.

F, Ercan Kara (65′), 4.5 — Kara was brought on after the third goal to hopefully inspire some last ditch attack. But with only two touches, Kara was only able to get off one inaccurate shot. He won an aerial, committed a foul, and missed connecting on his only pass.

D, Rafael Santos (65′), 5.5 — Santos had 21 touches coming on late in the match. He took two shots and put one on target, but it wasn’t a terribly threatening one from distance. Santos offered one key pass among his 13 total and 84.6% accuracy. One of his two long balls was accurate but his only cross missed the mark. Defensively, he had one tackle and an interception.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (68′), 5 — Thorhallsson was a late sub replacing the captain in the 68th minute. He completed 88.9% of his nine passes on 10 touches. He intercepted the ball once and committed a foul.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in the 3-1 home defeat to D.C. United. Who was your Orlando City Man of the Match? Vote in our poll and let us know in the comments below.