Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Five Takeaways

Orlando City made it two consecutive wins for the first time in 2023 and extended its unbeaten run to six matches (3-0-3) with Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Colorado. After a slow start, the Lions found the net twice in the second half and went on to win the game.

Here are the things I took from the match.

Facu on Fire

For the second straight year, it took Facundo Torres a while to get going. We have talked about that a lot this season. It’s not as if the Uruguayan hasn’t been helping the team in other ways, but as a Young Designated Player, he is counted on to provide goal contributions and those were scarce in the first part of the season. With a goal and an assist last night, Torres has three goals and two helpers — a total of five goal contributions — in the last two matches (both wins). In just those two games, Torres has climbed to the top of Orlando City’s goal-scoring list in MLS play and third in assists. If he can continue to regularly contribute on the scoresheet, the Lions should have a more productive second half of the season.

Lack of Sharpness Early

The Lions controlled possession and the ball spent a lot more time in Colorado’s half in the opening 45 minutes than in Orlando’s but the hosts create enough danger from that. Some of that may have been the wet ball after a heavy downpour prior to the game soaked the pitch. But some of it just seemed to be a general lack of sharpness. Passes were slightly offline, weighted too lightly or too heavily, or were met with a poor touch when they arrived. Players — Ivan Angulo, in particular — tried to take on defenders and lost the handle. This made it easy for Colorado to defend in a low block. There were only a few decent looks in the first half. None were better than Mauricio Pereyra’s attempt off a Kyle Smith entry pass in stoppage time, but he shot the ball right at Colorado goalkeeper Marko Ilic. Another good chance saw Ercan Kara try to lay off a ball for Torres but the layoff wasn’t soft enough, nor timed correctly, and Torres couldn’t get to the ball before the defense. Orlando was a little sharper in the second half, but there was a major reason for that.

Cards Changed the Game

Although Orlando failed to take advantage of it before halftime, the first huge break in the game occurred when Braian Galvan and Wilder Cartagena both went for a ball in the air with their boots high. Galvan’s studs caught Cartagena squarely in the torso and he was shown a straight red card in the 39th minute. This call could easily have gone the other way had the timing been slightly different, because both players had their boots high for the aerial ball, but it fell Orlando’s way on Saturday.

The second major event came in the 75th minute when Angulo used a little shake and bake to leave Lalas Abubakar behind. The defender reached out and grabbed Angulo to prevent a transition opportunity and that was a textbook yellow card. As Abubakar had already picked up a caution for a rough foul just six minutes into the match, he too had to leave the game, putting Colorado down to nine men. Orlando dominated possession from there and added a second goal.

Difficulty Adjusting to Favorable Circumstances

Despite going up a man in the first half, Orlando didn’t take advantage of it before halftime. In fact, the Lions didn’t generate much of anything until stoppage time, when Pereyra had a golden opportunity but hit it right at Ilic, and Angulo followed with a shot from a tough angle that missed the target. Orlando City didn’t score with a good flurry to open the second half either, and it wasn’t until the 56th minute that the Lions cashed in with Torres’ goal. Up two men for a quarter of an hour, the Lions only added a single insurance tally in the 83rd minute, despite Oscar Pareja’s substitution pattern indicating a desire to punish the Rapids for their red cards.

I asked Pereyra after the match about adjusting to playing against fewer opponents and whether different positioning by the Rapids gave the Lions an unusual look they weren’t expecting. Pereyra’s honest answer was that he thought the team felt the pressure not to concede because they had the manpower advantage. The Lions on the field needed to move the ball more quickly to open up spaces to create better scoring chances and wear down the visitors. Instead, Orlando tried shots from distance or probed cautiously to try keep the ball. This allowed Colorado to defend more comfortably and easily despite having fewer men.

Ramiro Breaks Through

It was Ramiro Enrique who put the game to bed in the 83rd minute, as the Argentine scored his first MLS goal. Torres took the ball in the right corner from Cesar Araujo, brought it into the box, then found Enrique lurking at the top of the area. Enrique took a touch to his right and blasted a low shot past Ilic to provide breathing room. It was a nice moment for the MLS U22 Initiative player, who has seen his minutes dwindle since Ercan Kara returned from injury. Hopefully, it will help get him going and springboard Enrique to a strong second half of the season.

Bonus Takeaway: Defense Says No

Colorado didn’t create much, which isn’t surprising given the way the match played out, but the Rapids were looking to hit on the counter and had some opportunities to do that snuffed out before they became dangerous. Robin Jansson had a vital open-field tackle in the first half to prevent a potential goal-scoring opportunity. Rodrigo Schlegel had three perfect tackles in the second half after coming on for Antonio Carlos. Three times the Rapids tried to take on Schlegel in the open field and all three times Rodri ignored the fancy movements and simply poked the ball away. Those four outstanding plays helped Pedro Gallese earn his second straight clean sheet, fifth shutout of the MLS season, and sixth in all competitions in 2023.

That’s what I took away from a weather-delayed 2-0 win over one of the bottom teams in the Western Conference. Hopefully the home win will provide some confidence for the Lions while playing future games in the friendly confines of Exploria Stadium. The performance wasn’t great, in my opinion, but the result was, and the Lions made enough plays to beat an overmatched Colorado side.