Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Five Takeaways

Orlando City defeated the New England Revolution 3-2 at home in Exploria Stadium. It was a dominating first-half performance for the Lions with the Revs getting a consolation goal at the death. The win continued Orlando City’s unbeaten streak since it righted the ship against Inter Miami four matches ago following a loss on the road to New York City FC. Here are my five takeaways from the win over the team from Foxborough.

Get Dunc’d On

Rookie forward Duncan McGuire continued his great run of form with another headed goal in the first half. The high flying big man up top is the physical specimen that Daryl Dike was but on a quieter and slightly underrated level entering the season. McGuire likely won’t be leaving on loan to immediately play in the English Football League Championship like his predecessor did, but the MAC Hermann Trophy winner continues to bury these chances then he is certain to start popping up on European radars sooner than later. McGuire has the tenacity in front of goal to become an instant club legend, so we should all enjoy his time here for however long that might be.

Whipping From The Wings

The opening goal came from a right-side Dagur Dan Thorhallsson cross to McGuire. The second goal came from the left when Ivan Angulo lobbed a ball across the box, where Facundo Torres coolly put it away on the full volley. The third goal game from Rafael Santos — also on the left side — cutting it back to the top of the box to Ivan Angulo with a finesse finish. These aren’t the first goals we have seen set up from the wings this season by any means. But the team has found most of its success in matches where passes are made from the channels into the danger area. If Orlando wants to make a deep playoff run, it would be best suited to recognize this is where a lot of the goals are coming from and focus on capitalizing on this strength.

Carles Gil Scores Again

New England Revolution talisman Carles Gil must love playing against Orlando City because he usually finds his name in the goal or assist list. Gil scored yet again in the first half from distance on a strike that goalkeeper Pedro Gallese will undoubtedly wish he had a second chance at. El Pulpo got down quickly to get hands on the ball but spilled it into the back of the net. He even had a brace on the night with yet another lucky deflection in the dying moments of stoppage time. That’s the thing about a talisman though, luck is always on their side. We don’t know if or when we might see New England again in the postseason yet, but if we do, for the love of the soccer gods, please step up and shut this man down.

Slowing Down Tempo

When Orlando City is ahead, there is no one better at the dark arts of milking a clock like Gallese. At this point, it’s laughable for any fan because we know how the final 30 minutes of a match are going to look with the ball in his hands. But one of the lesser noticed clock killers would be midfielder Cesar Araujo. The Uruguayan is an expert at putting his body between the defender and the ball to earn a foul. In fact, he earned four fouls against New England and averaged 3.1 per game across the season so far. If you have been a fan of the Lions for a while now, you are sure to have experienced some “Cardiac Cats” moments for both the good and the bad. With Araujo and Gallese on patrol, Orlando has real potential to shorten the length of play down the stretch when defending a lead becomes more and more important.

Secured Second

No matter how you shake it, Orlando City has secured second place in the Supporters’ Shield race with the victory. The Lions now have 60 points and the third-place Philadelphia Union only have 55 to their name. In recent years, Decision Day has come with drama, and we weren’t always sure that Orlando would find a place in the playoffs, but this year we can sit back and enjoy the day. Now, there is still some possibility our first playoff opponent could change but that is a bridge we can cross after Oct. 21. For now, let’s celebrate with the boys on their historic regular season and highest table finish.

That’s what I took away from Orlando City’s 3-2 win over the Revolution. Let me know your thoughts on the match in the comments below.