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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions rate in the their massive 4-3 comeback win over the Crew?

Published

12 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It might be two days later, but the feelings from Orlando City’s dramatic 4-3, come-from-behind win over the Columbus Crew haven’t faded yet, despite a trip to New York City FC looming on Wednesday. The Lions refused to give up on the game, even when Cucho Hernandez put Columbus ahead by two goals with less than a third of the match remaining.

Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in a crucial Eastern Conference win.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7 — It’s not often you give a good score to a goalkeeper who gives up three goals, but there was little El Pulpo could do about any of the three. He was hung out to dry on two of them and Diego Rossi did a superb job of bending the second Crew goal past him and just inside the post. Gallese made seven saves in the match and some of them were incredible. His best sequence was a massive double save on Yaw Yeboah and Hernandez in the 42nd minute, keeping the deficit at just one goal entering the half. Gallese’s distribution was good, as he passed at an 81% rate and completed six of his 11 long balls. He also recorded a clearance.

D, Rafael Santos, 5.5 — I thought the young fullback took a step back in this match. He struggled to get cross attempts past the first defender, was caught up the field on the third Crew goal, and had an unstable touch. His lone shot attempt from outside the box was off target, but to be fair, it didn’t miss by much. He was 0-for-3 on crossing accuracy and just six of his 13 long balls found their target. His passing rate was a meh 68.6%. Defensively, he contributed two interceptions but nothing else and committed a foul. The Brazilian has had better matches.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Jansson had another solid night and even though he kept Columbus onside for one of the Crew goals, that one came off of a defensive-zone turnover, so it’s hard to fault him too much for the sudden change. Jansson passed well (93.2%) and three of his four long balls were accurate. He recorded a tackle and two clearances and mostly kept the middle clean, as the Crew created most of the defense’s problems from the wide areas.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Schlegel’s biggest mistake in this game was anticipating a pass that didn’t come and then getting beaten by the one that did. He’s always going to be a high-risk, high-reward kind of defender and it bit him on that play but he was mostly solid on the night. Defensively, he led the team in interceptions (3), made two clearances, and blocked a shot. Schlegel led the team in passing accuracy (97.3%) and completed all three of his attempted long balls. He also attempted one shot that was on target.

D/MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 5.5 — This grade may seem a bit weird to some, but it’s kind of a split rating. At fullback, it was a tough night for the Icelandic import. Yeboah’s pace and the movement of the Crew’s forwards off the ball created issues for him. He kept the Crew onside for Julian Gressel’s opening goal, getting out of alignment with his back line teammates. He also got beat for pace on well-timed runs on long through balls, although there’s not much one can do about their pace. When he moved to the midfield, he helped the Lions climb back into the game. Defensively, he recorded one tackle, two interceptions, and a team-high three clearances. His passing rate was good (86%) and he completed his lone attempted long ball.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — It was another solid night from the Uruguayan. Araujo drew a team-high four fouls on the opposition, helped gum up the middle against a lethal opposing attack, and did well to connect the back line to the attackers. His passing was a solid 85.4% and he recorded a pair of key passes. He recorded one clearance as well. Araujo doesn’t get a lot of accolades, but he simply plays solidly every night.

MF, Felipe, 6.5 — The Brazilian was a surprise starter on the night but he played well and even picked up his first assist as a Lion — the secondary helper on Orlando City’s first goal. His pass sent Ivan Angulo down the right and it led to Martin Ojeda’s tying goal early in the second half, making it 1-1 at the time. Felipe helped glue the lines together, passing at an 87.1% rate, contributing a key pass, and completing two of his three long balls. He recorded two tackles, only committed one foul, and drew one from the Crew. Oscar Pareja sacrificed him in the 57th minute to send Facundo Torres on.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — It might seem harsh to hand Angulo a 6 when he recorded three key passes, including an assist, and used his speed to track back well to help out primarily on Dagur Dan’s side. However, too many transition opportunities were wrecked on the night due to a misplaced pass by the speedy winger. One good example was his overweighted ball that could have sent Ojeda in on goal but instead forced the Argentine to sprint hard to the end line and send it directly at the goalkeeper from a tough angle. Angulo took one off-target shot, passed at a 79.2% rate — the lowest percentage of all midfielders — completed one of his two crosses and was inaccurate on his lone through-ball attempt. Defensively, he chipped in a tackle and an interception.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6 — The captain was solid, if unspectacular, starting in the attacking midfield, then cycling to the No. 8 spot in the second half. He lost the ball too often with two unstable touches and he was dispossessed twice. He did not attempt a shot and completed 83.3% of his passes, one of his two crosses, and one of his two long balls, while recording one key pass. He chipped in a tackle and a clearance defensively, committing two fouls while not drawing one. The captain sent a fantastic ball forward that led (eventually) to Torres’ goal in the 73rd minute. Pereyra came off in the 80th minute for Michael Halliday, which moved Thorhallsson into the midfield.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 8 — With Torres dealing with a leg contusion, Ojeda got a rare start and he made the most of it. He scored Orlando City’s first goal, picked up the primary assist on the second, and delivered the service that led to the third and fourth. Ojeda contributed a team-high five key passes, put one of his two shots on target, and passed at an 87.5% rate, completing all three of his long balls and two of his team-high eight crosses. He even contributed a clearance on the defensive end. On another night, Ojeda could easily be our Man of the Match.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 8.5 (MotM) — It was a spectacular performance for the young Argentine, who filled in for Duncan McGuire after the rookie picked up a knock late in training and was held out as a precaution. Enrique tied the match in the 86th minute and won it in the 97th. He also picked up a secondary assist on Torres’ goal. Enrique put all three of his shots on frame, and would have had a hat trick had his point-blank shot not been right down the middle, where it made for an easier save for Patrick Schulte. He drew three fouls on the Crew, won a team-high three aerials, and contributed three clearances on the defensive end. His passing rate of 79.2% doesn’t catch the eye, but that’s fairly high for a forward. If Enrique can build some consistencey off of this performance, the Lions won’t miss the depth that Ercan Kara provided behind McGuire throughout the year. Hopefully, the yellow card Enrique picked up for taking off his shirt during his celebration of the winning goal won’t come back to haunt him, as it was his third of the season.

Substitutes

MF, Facundo Torres (57′), 8 — Torres replaced Felipe as Orlando City had fallen behind by a goal and Orlando City needed a spark. Boy did the Uruguayan provide one. The game changed noticeably once Torres took the pitch and within a couple of minutes, he’d already attempted two shots, although one of those was off target and the other blocked. Despite playing less than half the game, Torres led Orlando in shots (5), putting two on target. His exellent finish in the 73rd minute gave the Lions new life, and he recorded an assist on the game winner, ducking low to head Ojeda’s free kick cross back across the box and into Enrique’s path. The Uruguayan passed at just a 66.7% rate without attempting a cross or a long ball. Despite assisting on the game-winning goal, he was not credited with a key pass. Like Ojeda, on another night, Torres would have my Man of the Match vote. There’s a strong argument, as his presence changed the match.

D, Luca Petrasso (70′), 5.5 — The Canadian came on for Santos and did well to generally help put out fires on his side, although he didn’t provide much going forward. He didn’t pass particularly well (57.1% on just seven attempts), but did block a couple of crosses. He contributed a tackle and a clearance.

F, Jack Lynn (70′), 5 — OCB’s leading goal scorer came on for Angulo as the Lions were hunting goals to get back into the game. He figured in Torres’ goal, pulling a defender wide, which provided room for Enrique to collect the ball, starting the goal sequence. Lynn only managed two touches, winning two aerial balls. He completed one of his two passes.

D, Michael Halliday (80′), N/A — The American youth international came on to provide some coverage on Yeboah’s side to guard against the counter while Orlando pushed to tie — and then win — the game. He managed 10 touches, won an aerial, passed at a 71.4% rate, and recorded an interception.

That’s how I saw the individual performances on Saturday night as Orlando City climbed into second place in the Eastern Conference. What did I get right/wrong in your view? Be sure to vote for your Man of the Match in our poll below and provide your thoughts in the comments section.

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Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. New England Revolution

Get the inside scoop on the Revs, courtesy of someone who knows them best.

Published

23 hours ago

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September 13, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After a two-week break between matches, Orlando City is back in action Saturday and will try to make it two wins on the bounce after handily dispatching Nashville SC 3-0 during the team’s last outing. This week sees the Lions play their second game of the season against the New England Revolution, following the first meeting back in July when Orlando grabbed a first-ever victory at Gillette Stadium.

A date with the Revs means I caught up with Jake Catanese of the always excellent independent site The Blazing Musket. As usual, Jake was very helpful in getting us up to speed on New England, and I also answered some of his questions about OCSC, so make sure you check those out over at their place.

The Revs have tallied a perfectly balanced record of 1-1-1 since Leagues Cup ended. What’s been your general impression of the team’s play during those games?

Jake Catanese: About what the record has said, a true mixed bag. A blowout win in Montreal, where the Revs just hammered the counter and scored in bunches, a tough loss at RSL where they got outplayed but gave away goals on silly mistakes, and then a really interesting draw against St. Louis last time out that I think a lot of people heard about.

Overall, the Revs have really improved as the season has gone on, and a lot of that has to do with health but also a drastic shift in aggression. When the Revs are forced to sit in their own half and ping the ball around, they look really ineffective when they eventually do get the ball into the attacking half. But when New England catches you backpedaling, it’s only a matter of time before they find someone open in and around the box for a good shooting chance. I think New England is one of the best countering/transition teams in the league, but there’s still long stretches of play where they choose not to push the ball forward and that is usually playing into their weakness.

New England has conceded 51 goals in 26 games, which is third most in the Eastern Conference. Is there concern about the defense, and if so, how has coach Caleb Porter gone about addressing it?

JC: The defense has largely been fine. The goal difference makes things seem a lot worse because the New England just had a lot of trouble generating anything offensively in the first month or two of the season. There’s been a handful of blowouts where the Revs were dealing with heavy squad rotation and injuries, and playing without Carles Gil really hampers the Revs in the transition game, so largely when the Revs are playing at full strength they’ve been competitive. There have been a lot of glaring individual errors leading to goals, but a lot of those occur when the Revs are pinned back and passing amongst themselves, which as we’ve already stated, is a bad thing.

The Revs are facing a dilemma at center back though, with the Henry Kessler trade to St. Louis. He was their only CB under a guaranteed deal for 2025. That means they have decisions to make on Tim Parker, Dave Romney, and Xavier Arreaga, as well as veterans Matt Polster and Nick Lima, among others. Newcomer Alhassan Yusuf has yet to make his debut (international duty with Nigeria as soon as his visa cleared) and could add a lot of help from the central defensive midfield position. Right now there should be enough playing time down the stretch for the three center backs in particular to show what they can do and perhaps force the Revs into some tough decisions. 

Despite any defensive shakiness, statistical or otherwise, the Revs are only five points out of the last play-in place and have at least one game in hand on all of the teams in the East besides Columbus. What needs to happen for New England to get into the playoffs, and how far do you think they could go if they get there?

JC: Well, kind of a lot. The Revs only have three home games remaining and they dropped points to a not great St. Louis team at home that they really needed. Their final two games are at Columbus and at Miami, where they might force Messi to pry their 2021 Shield campaign single-season points record from their cold, dead hands. At this point, dropping any more points at home could be the final nail in the playoff coffin and the Revs are going to have to win probably two of their upcoming road games against Orlando, Charlotte, and Houston, which are all solidly in the midtable. 

At best, the Revs can get into the play-in game, but then they’re more than likely going to face Miami as the top-seed in a three-game series if they even advance in the one-off match. If the Revs get hot and Gil goes on a 2021 MVP-level heater and Luca Langoni and/or Giacomo Vrioni are finding the back of the net every week, they can absolutely scare someone, but I don’t see them getting past Miami or Columbus in the first round. So that means the Revs need to jump up 10+ points into Orlando/Charlotte range to be one of the middle seeds to make a deep run, and they’re just too far back to make up that ground, barring a massive win streak and probably a catastrophic collapse from a team or two ahead of them.

Are there any players who will be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

JC: Hehehe, well, we have a head coach who’s not available due to suspension, but I think everyone knows that. It was kind of hard to miss.

On the injury front, Tomas Chancalay is out for the year which is a bummer. Brandon Bye missed last week’s game but might be fit to be on the bench this week. Esmir Bajraktarevic, Arreaga, and Yusuf all return from international duty.

4-2-3-1: Aljaz Ivacic; Peyton Miller, Xavier Arrega, Tim Parker, Nick Lima; Matt Polster, Ian Harkes; Luca Langoni, Carles Gil, Dylan Borrero; Giacomo Vrioni.
About as solid of a starting group as the Revs can do, with Will Sands possibly starting again at fullback over Lima. If Yusuf is ready to start, he could feature next to Polster, and at some point Esmir should appear. Since he subbed on for Bosnia and had an assist to some guy named Edin Dzeko on his debut for them, I think he’s in good form.

The Revs need this one but the PawedCast gods demand their usual 2-2 draw.

Thank you to Jake for the helpful insight into the Revolution. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/13/24

Orlando City prepares for the New England Revolution, Morgan Gautrat signs new contract, Orlando Pride play tonight, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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September 13, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It’s Friday the 13th, so make sure to stay away from black cats and broken mirrors. I’ll be a bit festive today and grab some early Halloween decorations and a costume for my cat that he will definitely despise me for. Let’s jump into today’s links!

Orlando City Gets Ready for New England

After getting last weekend off, Orlando City is back in action Saturday with a home game against the New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m. The Lions are coming off of a dominant 3-0 win over Nashville SC and are seventh in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Revolution played during the international break and had to settle for a 2-2 draw against St. Louis City. Orlando Head Coach Oscar Pareja spoke on how the Lions have been trying to maintain momentum during the break to get another win against the Revolution this season.

Morgan Gautrat Signs New Contract

Orlando Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat has signed a new deal with the club that will last through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026 as well. The Pride traded for Gautrat in January of this year and she’s made 14 appearances across all competitions so far. The 31-year-old has provided important depth for the Pride’s midfield, filling in when needed to cover for injuries and international absences. She’s the latest player to sign a new deal with the club, as Orlando aims to keep most of its roster for next year.

Orlando Pride Game Headlines NWSL Slate

Although tonight’s match between the Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current won’t be a battle of undefeated teams like the last time they squared off in July, it’s still a heavyweight matchup. The Current will likely have revenge on their minds, as they have an opportunity to do what the Pride did earlier this year and snap their opponent’s unbeaten streak. It will also be another duel between two of the league’s top scorers in Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga.

Elsewhere in the league this weekend, the North Carolina Courage will host Bay FC in an intriguing match as both teams jockey for playoff position. Pride fans will also likely be keeping an eye on the Washington Spirit’s match Sunday against the Houston Dash. The Spirit are currently six points behind the Pride with just six games left this season.

Gauging the MLS Playoff Race

The MLS playoff picture is becoming clearer and clearer each week, and Andrew Wiebe assessed where each team stands. Orlando was grouped alongside the New York Red Bulls, New York City FC, and Charlotte FC as Eastern Conference sides who should qualify for the playoffs and have a chance at hosting in the first round. Another strong summer by the Lions has put a gap between them and a playoff bubble that includes teams that have underperformed but have the talent to make some noise this postseason.

As for the Western Conference, the Portland Timbers have established themselves as a potential dark horse amid a strong run of form, while FC Dallas, Minnesota United, and Austin FC are poised to fight for the last playoff spot. It should all make for an exciting final stretch of the season.

Free Kicks

  • The cooking competition between Nico Lodeiro and Morgan Gautrat continued with a pair of chicken dishes. The video also includes handy recipes in case you want to try making them yourself.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a smooth Friday the 13th!

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Orlando City

Orlando City’s Fullback Dilemma

Examining a weak point in Orlando City’s defense as the playoff hunt continues.

Published

2 days ago

on

September 12, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City has compiled a 6-2-2 record over the last 10 matches, climbing into the playoff picture in the process. The club sits in seventh place with 37 points heading into the weekend, which puts the Lions four points above Toronto FC in eighth place. During those 10 matches, the Lions have scored 25 goals while allowing 14 goals for a +11 goal differential. That all seems pretty good, but it doesn’t mean everything is clicking.

One of the reasons for the 14 goals allowed in that period — and the 41 goals allowed all season — has been the quality of play at the fullback position. There aren’t really any new faces from last season’s record-winning club, so what is going on? Let’s take a look at the left and right back positions.

I’m going to start on the right side, because things aren’t nearly as dire over there. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson hasn’t been perfect, but most of the time he’s pretty good. He’s had the odd game where he didn’t seem to be clicking, but more often than not he’s been fine. Offensively, he has two goals and four assists on the season. There have been defensive lapses, but he is in some ways still developing as a left back. If he wasn’t doing well, we might have seen more of Michael Halliday by this point.

It’s the left side that is more concerning. Oscar Pareja has gone back and forth between Rafael Santos and Kyle Smith. Santos has played in 25 matches, starting 16 and logging 1,451 minutes. Meanwhile, Smith has played in 23 matches, starting nine, and logging 834 minutes. Neither of the two have been consistent enough for Pareja to name one as the go-to starter.

I think the dilemma stems from both players struggling on the defensive end of the pitch, which is the primary assignment for a left back. Both have been culpable on goals allowed by the defense. I think that Smith is exactly who we think he is. He has a pretty good game, is otherwise fine, but probably shouldn’t be a starter in MLS.

Santos, on the other hand, showed us what he is capable of after he locked down the position last season. I’m not certain what happened, but he hasn’t been as good this season, at least not consistently. It poses quite the conundrum for Pareja as neither has made a definitive case to be the starter. That is a potential problem for a club chasing a playoff spot.

This is where you might expect me to have an answer for the fullback dilemma, but alas I do not. I’ve previously suggested letting Luca Petrasso get a start to shake things up, but the truth is he’s probably not ready. That means that we will still see either Santos or Smith get the start. It will probably depend on which player looks better in training.

This isn’t a great situation as the end of the regular season approaches. Santos was able to step things up late last season, and frankly he needs to do so again.

Let me know your pick in the comments below.

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