Revisiting Orlando City’s Lineup Changes

It’s not often that I’m able to revisit one of my previous articles. The season moves on and so do we in our coverage. However, with the international break upon us, I wanted to see what I got right and wrong in my proposed lineup changes from last week. I also want to see what I missed on completely, and whether Oscar Pareja might have done something better. Let’s take a look at how I did.

The Defense

I suggested that Luca Petrasso get a chance to start, given that neither Rafael Santos nor Kyle Smith had been playing particularly well as of late. That didn’t happen as Santos got the start and Smith came on for him in the 82nd minute. Once again, neither Santos nor Smith covered themselves in glory. Fortunately, their play didn’t allow Nashville SC to score, though it was a close thing a few times.

The change that Pareja made that I didn’t predict was giving Rodrigo Schlegel the start over David Brekalo. It was a decision that only lasted through the first half as Brekalo came on to start the second half. Schlegel received the lowest grade on the the team in our Player Grades and Man of the Match. I’m not certain if Brekalo needed an extra 45 minutes of rest before playing, but having Schlegel start wasn’t a great decision.

The Midfield

I was correct that Pareja did not sit Facundo Torres — and thank goodness he didn’t — nor Ivan Angulo. I then suggested that Martin Ojeda not get the start in favor of Nico Lodeiro. I’m glad Pareja didn’t take that suggestion. Ojeda had an excellent match. His performance was nearly Man-of-the-Match level if not for Torres’ earning it with a brace. He assisted on Angulo’s goal and started the attack on Torres’ first goal. I was wrong about sitting Ojeda.

I’m not going to take any credit for saying the Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena would start. My cat could have predicted that. I will mention that I was correct in that Angulo rebounded with a good match, including scoring the first goal. We’ll never know what Lodeiro would have done with the start, but he did play well off the bench, helping set up the final goal.

The Strikers

This one is a bit of a push. I suggested that Duncan McGuire get the start over Ramiro Enrique. That didn’t happen, and to be fair to Enrique, he had a pretty good match. McGuire came on in the 68th minute, providing some energy to the attack and getting the assist on Torres’ second goal. Looking back, I’m not certain that it matters which striker started in this one, though McGuire did have a goal contribution. At this point, I just want one — or both — of them to score at least one goal.

Never let it be said I’m not willing to own up to my mistakes. I still think this team isn’t playing to its full ability, but I hope that comes down the stretch. Vamos Orlando.