Orlando City at New England Revolution: Three Keys to Victory

Orlando City is heading to Foxborough, MA, to take on the New England Revolution on Saturday. The Lions are coming off a nice home win over the Colorado Rapids, and will want to extend their six-match unbeaten streak when they face the Revs for the first of two meetings between the Eastern Conference foes.

What does Orlando City need to do to secure all three points on the road in Gillette Stadium?

Backups Need to Step Up

Pedro Gallese, Wilder Cartagena, and Facundo Torres will all miss this match due to international duty with their respective national teams. On top of that, both Kyle Smith and Antonio Carlos will be serving yellow card suspensions. That is a lot of starters to be missing heading into a big away match at Gillette Stadium — a place where the Lions have never won.

With so many players not available it will be incredibly important for others to step up in their places. On the back line, Michael Halliday will most likely step in for Smith now that he has returned from his time with the U-20 USMNT squad, and Rodrigo Schlegel will partner with Robin Jansson for Carlos, as he has done so many times over the past few years. There’s not really a big dropoff in the defense, though it does mean the team won’t have the normal quality of substitutes on the bench.

Things aren’t so rosy in goal or in the midfield. Mason Stajduhar is a decent backup to Gallese, but he is not El Pulpo. Meanwhile, Torres has finally started to hit his stride with Orlando City this season, only to be called up and miss a key match. Fortunately, There is another Designated Player in Martin Ojeda who has mostly come off the bench of late that can shore up the attacking midfield. Cartagena has been excellent in his partnership with Cesar Araujo in the defensive midfield, but Felipe is an experienced player who can fill in nicely. 

I would still much rather Oscar Pareja had his normal starters for the New England match, but Orlando City’s depth this season is much improved over the past. Here’s hoping they can get it done.

Different Goal Contributors

I mentioned above that Torres won’t be available for the match, and that he’s turned up his production of late. Specifically, he has three goals and an assist in the past two matches. He has scored more than half of his goals on the season in the last two weeks. Someone will need to step into the Torres-sized hole if Orlando City is expecting to get a result this weekend.

The usual contenders of Ercan Kara, Duncan McGuire, and Ivan Angulo are certainly capable of doing so. I would love for any or all of them to net a goal in this match. Ojeda is another who could be rounding into form, and let’s not forget that Ramiro Enrique just opened his account for the Lions against Colorado. 

There is a bit of good news in that Djordje Petrović is also out on international duty for New England, meaning the Orlando City offense will face off against former Lion Earl Edwards, Jr. Much like Stajduhar, he isn’t bad, but he’s no Petrović. I’m not going to be picky about who scores — I think Robin Jansson is due for a goal — as long as at least one person steps up to do so.

Contain Gil and the Revolution Offense

New England does not lack offensive firepower. Carles Gil, Gustavo Bou, and Bobby Wood, can put the ball in the net and can create danger from almost anywhere. An Orlando City back seven featuring backups, as I mentioned above, will have their hands full in trying to keep New England from finding the back of the net.

It may take flawless performances from every player on defense to give the Lions a chance to keep the score close. If Orlando City can effectively absorb attacks and then create danger on the counter there will be opportunities to score. Of course, the key word there is ‘effectively.’ We’ll find out on Saturday.

That’s what I’ll be looking for this weekend as the Lions look to keep their winning ways going in an important Eastern Conference matchup. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.