Orlando City vs. Minnesota United FC: Five Takeaways

Winless through two matches in league play, Orlando City looked to get the train back on the track against Western Conference club Minnesota United FC, but a result for the home squad was just not in the cards. The Lions wasted numerous golden scoring opportunities and paid for each of the few defensive/goalkeeping lapses it had in a 3-2 loss at the death.

What follows are five takeaways from a game that got away from the boys in purple.

Starting Quickly

One week ago, Orlando City found itself on the wrong end of an aggressive opening against Inter Miami. Orlando flipped the script out of the gates against Minnesota, scoring the fastest goal to start a match in club history. Just 14 seconds into the match, Duncan McGuire slotted home the opening goal for the Lions. A lot of fans were likely still making their way to their seats as the striker celebrated Orlando’s first goal in MLS this season.

Careless Giveaway Costly

Unfortunately, fast starts can go both ways, and an untimely and uncharacteristic giveaway by goalkeeper Pedro Gallese led to the opening Minnesota goal just three minutes later when he took an extra touch with Teemu Pukki bearing down on him. The Minnesota forward was able to get a foot on Gallese’s clearance, knock it down, and score into an empty net. It is a play Gallese would no doubt like to be able to redo, but unfortunately, the high of McGuire’s early effort on the offensive end was quickly negated by a horrible judgement call in the defensive portion of the pitch.

Gallese’s mistake was not the only careless giveaway throughout the match, although the Lions significantly cut down on such plays compared to the Inter Miami match. One of the worst examples, however, came when Rodrigo Schlegel tried to see a slow-rolling ball over the end line late and ended up giving Minnesota a scoring chance when Bongokuhle Hlongwane not only slid in to keep the ball in play, but also out-hustled the defender to the loose ball and got a shot off while 1-v-1 with Gallese. The goalkeeper came up with the stop, so that one wasn’t as costly.

Araujo Injured

Unfortunately for the Lions, stalwart defensive midfielder Cesar Araujo suffered an injury late in the first half. The Uruguayan went down without contact and the training staff appeared to be checking his right knee. Araujo appeared to be in pain as he attempted to bear weight on the affected leg on the sideline and was unable to continue. It was the kind of play that has fans fearing the worst, but there will be no word out of the club until Araujo has a chance to be fully evaluated by team doctors. The injury rubbed salt in the wound of dropping points at home to Minnesota.

Wasteful When it Mattered Most

Orlando City had plenty of chances to kick on and win the match against Minnesota after Gallese’s mistake, both before and after the goalkeeper failed to defend his near post on Pukki’s second goal of the first half. This was especially true in the second half, when Orlando City looked to be the aggressor. While the clear-cut scoring opportunities were plentiful, the team suffered from the same aliment which has affected it numerous times over the last several seasons, a failure to finish. The team boasted multiple attempts from point-blank range, which either missed the target entirely or were directed straight at the goalkeeper.

Just a small degree of better shot placement could have led to a lopsided win and built confidence in the club’s attackers. Unfortunately for Orlando, these are the types of mistakes that cost the team points. Even though the season is still young, the quality of the finishing must improve if Orlando is going to climb the table.

Up and Down Finish

It appeared that the Lions had finally broken through when McGuire sent a rocket inside the left post from distance to tie the match in the 83rd minute. Martin Ojeda made a good play to gain control in the middle of the pitch and he quickly found the striker breaking open on the right. McGuire placed a perfect shot to the inside of the left post to bring the stadium crowd to its feet, and, although the goal ironically didn’t come from one of the many clear scoring chances the team created, it seemed as if Orlando City had finally gotten its reward with a late point — with plenty of time remaining to make it the full three points.

But things went south deep in stoppage time on a routine play that turned dangerous out of nowhere. Minnesota played a long ball off a goal kick, and Robin Jansson stepped forward to try to win it. It was a poor decision, as the center back had little chance from that position to win the ball in the air. The goal kick was flicked on and fell perfectly into the path for Tani Oluwaseyi, who quickly shuttled it forward to a streaking Hlogwane, who was splitting Schlegel and Michael Halliday. The speedy forward used his pace to get in alone on Gallese and scored the winner.

Orlando controlled most of the match, but ultimately could not make enough plays to end on top. Let us know in the comments below what else you took away from this match and how you are feeling now three weeks into the season.