PawedCast Episode 402: Minnesota Rewind, a New OCB Head Coach, Tigres Preview, and More

Be careful what you wish for, especially when that wish is for more offense without also specifying “without sacrificing anything on defense.” Orlando City scored twice and created enough chances to fill a calendar month, but the Lions unfortunately didn’t fill the net on the bulk of those opportunities.

A late mistake defensively and a couple of goalkeeping gaffes combined to create more than Orlando could overcome in a 3-2 home loss to Minnesota United. The Loons paid the Lions back for McGuire’s late winner in St. Paul last year and it could hardly have been a more frustrating result, despite the fact that the offense did everything right except put the ball in the net with the final touch.

We break down the game and why we think it was actually encouraging regardless of the result. We also made our selections for Man of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox requested information about TV shows, expected goals, and music recommendations. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

Following the mailbagbox, we discussed OCB’s new head coach, who was formerly an assistant with the Young Lions. Can he maintain the “drunk OCB” of 2023 as we head into 2024? We’ll start to find that out on Saturday as the Young Lions head to Atlanta to open their season.

Finally, we turn our attention toward Tigres. The Lions return to Monterrey in search of a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals. A win would do it. A draw while scoring at least one goal would do it. A shootout win after a 0-0 draw would do it. But the Lions are going into a difficult place to play and had to hang on for dear life a year ago just to get a scoreless draw. It’ll be tough. We lay out our key matchups for the game and try our luck at predicting the final score.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

Here’s how No. 402 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City found some offense, but should have found much more offense than it did in a dissatisfying late loss to the Loons.

24:36 – Our mailbagbox and OCB’s new head coach.

47:42 — The Lions visit Mexico looking to topple Tigres.