Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Five Takeaways

Orlando City was riding a four-game winning streak when the Lions returned home for their second match of the season against New York City FC. The Lions were looking to avenge their most recent loss, which coincidentally came against the same opponent, however, despite taking the lead in the second half, the team was unable to gain to all three points at home.

The good news is that Orlando City kept its unbeaten streak alive. What follows are our five tawkways from a 1-1 draw.

Squad “Rotation” on the Wing

Despite Orlando playing its third game in eight days, Head Coach Oscar Pareja only made a single change to the lineup, substituting Nicolas Lodeiro for Facundo Torres. This did not cause much of a change in game plan as the veteran midfielder slotted into Torres’ usual position. Lodeiro provided a few quality runs in the first half but was otherwise ineffective in the buildup with his fellow attacking players against a compact and organized NYCFC defense. He was substituted off for Torres in the second half and the Orlando City attack appeared to show a bit more bite with the youthful Designated Player back on the pitch, but that may have less to do with the personnel change than figuring the opponent out, as Lodeiro and Torres finished with virtually the same number of touches (the official stat packet had both with 29, while whoscored.com gave Torres 31 to Lodeiro’s 29). Both players finished with one key pass, while Torres had one off-target shot, while Lodeiro did not record an attempt.

Defensive Struggle

The match wasn’t an advertisement for the excitement of the game of soccer in the first half. There were few shots and even fewer decent chances in the opening 45 minutes. Whether this was an intentional cagey start from both teams, the fact they were playing in the Florida heat in their third matches in eight days, or both, the opening 45 minutes produced only six total shots, and none of them were big chances. Pedro Gallese had to make two saves to Matt Freese’s one. The game was a bit more open in the second half, but both teams’ defenses played well. Cesar Araujo stood out by dispossessing NYCFC’s most dangerous attacking threat, Santiago Rodriguez, on multiple occasions. Araujo finished with four tackles and nine ball recoveries.

Red-Hot Ramiro

Ramiro Enrique kept up his hot streak by putting the Lions ahead in the second half on the slightest of touches. The age-old adage of ‘put the ball on target and good things will happen’ rang true in the 52nd minute on the breakthrough goal of the match. Martin Ojeda drove toward the top of the penalty area and fired the ball on target. A shot that looked to be heading toward an easy block by the defender or a save by Freese deflected off Enrique’s foot, catching the NYCFC goalkeeper leaning the wrong way. The goal gave Orlando a 1-0 lead at the time. Enrique has now scored in four straight matches and the Lions are undefeated over that stretch (3-0-1). While Duncan McGuire is away representing the United States in the Olympics, and with a potential transfer looming during the MLS secondary window, Enrique’s surge couldn’t come at a better time.

Cartagena Coughs Up the Lead

Orlando City didn’t lead long. Just five minutes after Enrique’s opener, the Lions gifted the visitors a tying goal. NYCFC had pressed Orlando high much of the game, and although the Lions mostly figured out how to deal with it, it was Wilder Cartagena’s blind pass just outside his own area that proved costly. The usually secure Peruvian took the ball while facing goal, turned, and sent a blind pass to the right, looking for fullback Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. However, he didn’t account for Rodriguez, who didn’t even have to move to intercept the ball. Rodriguez switched the play quickly to Alonso Martinez on the right, creating an overload against an Orlando defense that thought it was transitioning forward. Martinez played in Hannes Wolf on the right. Pedro Gallese tried to come out and pressure the shot, but Wolf calmly chipped it over the goalkeeper and inside the far post to tie the match in the 57th minute.

Foiled By Freese

Sometimes you simply have to tip your hat to a good performance by the opponent. Saturday night produced such a time, as Orlando City had a couple of good looks that New York City FC’s goalkeeper stopped. Cartagena and Enrique each had a good opportunity denied by good diving stops by Freese, who has excellent lateral movement. Enrique had a good shot at a brace when he blasted a shot from outside the area in the 67th minute. The shot was toward the right side of the net, and Enrique hit it with a lot of pace, but he didn’t quite get it far enough toward the corner. Still, Freese did well to get his left hand to it moving to his left, to keep it out. Cartagena nearly atoned for his giveaway on the tying goal in the 83rd minute, unleashing a cannon toward the bottom left corner in the 83rd minute. This time, Freese made an outstanding stop, fully extending to deflect it just wide of the post. The goalkeeper landed hard on his shoulder and needed treatment before continuing. A final opportunity in the last minute of stoppage by Luis Muriel again was saved by Freese, but the Colombian wasn’t able to generate a lot of power on his spinning shot and it was a more routine stop.

Freese’s performance not only prevented the Lions from taking all three points, but also stopped Orlando City’s streak of multi-goal games at seven, which is a club record.

Orlando City now heads into the All-Star and Leagues Cup break. The above items give the basics of what happened Saturday night in a tight, playoff-style match. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.