Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Five Takeaways

Orlando City traveled to North Carolina looking to get back on the winning side of things. Unfortunately, despite being a man up for more than 52 minutes and scoring two goals, Orlando City was only able to secure a 2-2 draw for a point on the road. It was not the result we were hoping for, but at least Orlando City scored some goals. What follows are my five takeaways from the match against Charlotte FC.

Worst Clearance Ever

Charlotte doesn’t score a lot of goals, but even the hosts couldn’t miss the gift-wrapped chance that Felipe and Ivan Angulo combined to give Kerwin Vargas in the 11th minute of the match. As the defender ran back towards his own goal, the ball came across and he tried to kick it out. However, he and Angulo came together at the worst moment. Felipe didn’t get anything on his clearance and Angulo was in position to intervene but perhaps was trying harder to get out of the way than to intercede. As a result, neither made the play and the ball trickled to a wide-open Vargas to slot it into the back of the net. Mason Stajduhar had no chance at the ball.

Red Card Call

Orlando City got a lifeline in the 38th minute when Scott Arfield was given a red card following a video review of his foul on Felipe. It was definitely the correct call, I’m just not used to PRO referees making decisions that benefit Orlando City, especially on video review. You would think that would give the Lions the advantage, but Orlando City did not manage to get a shot on goal the rest of the half. Things did get better in the second half, but it still took a while for the Lions to even the score. Orlando City really needed to take advantage of being a man up to bring home all three points, but it was not to be.

Welcome Back, Duncan

It had been 39 days since Duncan McGuire scored a goal for Orlando City. The last time was on May 11 against the Philadelphia Union. Fortunately, the dry spell is over as the young striker scored in the 63rd minute of the match — after a pair of uncharacteristic misses — to even the score. Luis Muriel chipped the ball over to Facundo Torres on the left side of the box. Torres headed the ball into the center, where McGuire managed to get a foot on the ball, redirecting it into the back of the net. Goals change games, and Orlando City needed that one.

Frustrating Defense

Orlando City was a man up and had the lion’s share of the possession and still managed to go down a goal again in the second half. On one of Charlotte’s many odd-man transition attacks, Rodrigo Schlegel got caught upfield on a ball over the top. Robin Jansson looked to be in good position but allowed Patrick Agyemang to get inside of him. Rafael Santos arrived and had a clear opportunity to knock the ball away, but he muffed his chance and his problems got worse when he fell, leaving a two-on-one Charlotte break. Agyemang found Brandt Bronico on the right side while Jansson tried to recover. He nearly got there in time. Stajduhar was late getting off his line and couldn’t get there in time. Bronico chipped it in to give Charlotte the lead again. Frankly, there were too many such attacks, and that particular one was horribly defended.

Ban Short Corners

Orlando City took several short corners in the match and every single one of them amounted to absolutely nothing. Alternatively, two corners taken late in the match resulted in two shots on goal, including Orlando City’s second goal to even the score at 2-2. Nico Lodeiro put his corner kick from the left all the way over to an open Torres on the right side of the box. Torres settled it and put it in the back of the net. Minutes later, another corner fell for Schlegel in the box and he sent a shot on target that Kristijan Kahlina saved off his post to keep the game tied. I’m just saying that perhaps one way works better than the other.

That is how I saw things in the 2-2 draw against Charlotte FC. What stood out to you in the match? Let us know in the comments below and as always, vamos Orlando!