Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo: Three Keys to Victory

Orlando City kicks off its Leagues Cup campaign Friday night at Exploria Stadium against the Houston Dynamo. This is the first match for either club in the group stage of the competition. The two clubs are in the South 2 group, along with Santos Laguna of Liga MX.

What does Orlando City need to do to start the group stage of the Leagues Cup off with a victory?

Pepper Clark’s Goal

Steve Clark has played every minute of every match for the Dynamo during the regular season. In those 23 matches, he has eight clean sheets, made 56 saves, and allowed 31 goals. Orlando City needs to harass Clark for 90-plus minutes. There is no extra time in this tournament. If it is all even at the end of regular time, the match goes straight to penalty kicks and the shootout winner gets a second point in the standings. Orlando City needs to avoid that. Not because the club is bad in those situations, but rather it is simply better to win outright.

The Lions have plenty of players willing and able to take shots on goal. Both Duncan McGuire and Ercan Kara are extremely accurate once in the box with the ball. I don’t want the offense to be limited to just the strikers — and in Oscar Pareja’s system the offense is not like that. I’m looking for Facundo Torres to find his feet again after going a bit silent recently. I think that Ivan Angulo is due for another goal. I really want to see Robin Jansson double the center back scoring with a header of his own.

I have a plan…Attack

Houston has not been good on the road in 2023. The Dynamo have a 1-8-3 record on the road this season. Orlando City has shown that it has the ability to press and impose its will upon the opponent. Do that against the Dynamo. 

It is hard for teams to score if every time a player receives a pass, they are met with a defender or two hounding them. That should always happen along the back line, but when Cesar Araujo or Wilder Cartagena does it in the defensive midfield, it stifles an attack. When McGuire is tracking back and nipping at the heels of Houston’s midfield it can cause turnovers. That is what I want every player for Orlando City doing on Friday night.

Avenge the Open Cup

I know that everyone was disappointed when Orlando City was not able to advance in this year’s defense of the U.S. Open Cup championship. I was also disappointed, but it’s very hard to win a competition in back-to-back years. The Leagues Cup is an opportunity for Orlando City to get back on the right side of things in this knockout tournament. 

Pareja has won the U.S. Open Cup twice, so he knows what it takes to compete in such tournaments. Earlier this year, the Lions were still putting all the pieces together and weren’t able to advance. Now, Orlando City is playing well, and with the regular season on a break, the Lions can focus on the Leagues Cup. I’m certain that there will still be some roster rotation, but rest assured that Pareja will be taking this competition very seriously.

That is what I’ll be looking for this Friday night as the Lions take on Houston Dynamo FC. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.