Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Five Takeaways

Orlando City hosted Charlotte FC in a midweek matchup at Inter&Co Stadium. It wasn’t the most enjoyable match to watch, especially in the first half, but ultimately the Lions earned all three points and a clean sheet with a 2-0 victory over the visitors. Here are my five takeaways from another important win at home.

Possession without Purpose

That’s a little bit harsh. Orlando City did have a purpose to go along with all of its 62% possession in the first half. That purpose was to score a goal. What the Lions didn’t have was very many good opportunities on goal in the first half. The Lions took seven shots, with only one on target. The Lions passed at an 89% rate in the first half, but were frustrated in the attack thanks in part to how difficult Charlotte is to break down.

Boring FC

I don’t know how Charlotte FC fans watch this team week in and week out. They don’t give up a lot of goals, but they don’t score many goals either. If I wasn’t covering the match I might have fallen asleep. Defensively, Charlotte is very sound. The addition of Tim Ream at center back only made The Crown more frustrating to play. It reminded me of those tedious matches against Nashville SC a few years ago. Thankfully, it didn’t stay that way the whole match.

Fantastic Facundo

It didn’t take long into the second half for the Lions to finally get on the board. The Lions did what they had done all game, possessing, working the ball into the attack, and crossing the ball into the box. The difference this time was the accuracy of Martin Ojeda’s cross, Charlotte not being in position, and Torres making the most of the chance. He took the ball in mid-air with his favored left foot and put the ball past Kristijan Kahlina to give the Lions the lead.

McGuire Magic

Many consider 2-0 to be the most dangerous score line in soccer. I disagree. I’m always more worried when my team is leading by only one goal. Thankfully, Orlando City got a second goal in the 89th minute. It would be hard to have a quicker buildup to the goal than this one. Pedro Gallese sent the ball up to Luis Muriel, who took one touch, turned, and sent a perfect through ball to Duncan McGuire. For his part, McGuire timed his run perfectly, split the defense, chipped the keeper, and the celebration was on. That’s two straight matches with a goal for Big Dunc. It’s seems he might be “back.”

Muriel Makes a Difference

I already mentioned Muriel’s exceptional assist on the McGuire goal, but that wasn’t all he did. Muriel looked much better on and off the ball for Orlando City in his limited time on the pitch against Charlotte just days after a good performance late against New England. He seemed to know better where his teammates were and would be. Muriel only made eight passes on the night, including the assist, but he completed all of them. There were other times when he was on the ball and was able to keep it away from Charlotte as Orlando looked to see the match out. He may have only played the last 17 minutes of the match, but he looked more comfortable than he has all season. Heading into the playoffs, that is a good thing.

It wasn’t always pretty, but three points is still three points. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and as always Vamos Orlando!