Orlando City vs. FC Dallas: Five Takeaways

Orlando City visited the Lone Star State to face Western Conference foes FC Dallas. The Lions entered the match needing a victory to clinch a postseason spot and accomplished that mission, thanks to a total team offensive effort. What follows are my five takeaways from a resounding 3-1 victory.

Possession with Purpose

In the opening 15 minutes of the match, Orlando enjoyed a significant amount of possession with little to show for it. However, that changed quickly as the first goal came on the heels of some technically sound and visually pleasing play. Crisp passing and solid spacing allowed Rafael Santos to find the space to send in a lethal cross from the left side, which was placed with pinpoint accuracy. The cross found the head of Ramiro Enrique who made a sneaky run into the box to beat the much taller Omar Gonzalez to the ball. Enrique made solid contact with his head to flick it past Maarten Paes. Winning the possession battle helps control a match and the Lions not only won that battle, but also played with purpose when they possessed the ball throughout the majority of the match.

Schlegoal

Orlando City has taken the second-most corner kicks in Major League Soccer throughout the regular season thus far, and although the Lionss often don’t seem to do much with them, they made one count in the second half in Dallas. Martin Ojeda played a corner into the box in the 51st minute which found the head of a streaking Rodrigo Schlegel, who powered it into the back of the net. It is always fun when the team gets a contribution from an unexpected source, and I did not have a Schlegoal on my Bingo card. The goal doubled Orlando’s lead just a few minutes into the second half and provided a bit of breathing room.

Torres Punctuation Mark

Four minutes after Orlando City took a two-goal lead, Designated Player Facundo Torres took a beautifully weighted pass from Ramiro Enrique into a 1-v-1 situation against Paes. Torres calmly slotted it into the net as two defenders were closing in on his position. For Torres, the goal not only put his team up with a commanding 3-0 lead but also pulled him level with club legend Cyle Larin for most goals scored across all competitions in team history. Smart money says that that record will be Torres’ before the end of the season.

McGuire’s Missed Chances

While the team will enjoy the road victory and success at Dallas for the first time in club history, the game wasn’t 100% perfect. Second-half substitute Duncan McGuire came on in the 65th minute along with Luis Muriel in a double change for Ojeda and Enrique. McGuire was given three clear-cut chances on goal which should have completely buried the home side. The first came just moments after he came onto the pitch.

Just moments after entering the game, Muriel played Robin Jansson in on the left on a recycled corner kick before the captain crossed it onto McGuire’s foot right in front of goal. McGuire made solid contact, but the placement was much to be desired as it was almost directly at Paes. Just a few minutes later, Muriel sent McGuire behind the defense in the 71st minute, finding himself in alone on goal. With a defender on his hip, McGuire attempted the shot with his weaker left foot and got neither the power nor placement he would have liked on an attempt which ultimately didn’t bother Paes much. Finally, Muriel again sent McGuire in behind in the 97th minute down the left. This time, McGuire wanted to pull it onto his preferred foot and in doing so, he allowed Marco Farfan time to catch up and block the effort.

These are the kinds of opportunities one would expect McGuire to finish and Muriel’s passing on all three deserved to be rewarded.

Nervy Finish

The end of that match felt more stressful than it needed to be, didn’t it? Nicolas Lodeiro came on in the 73rd minute to provide fresh legs in the defensive midfield and just minutes after coming on he committed a foul in the box to concede a penalty. Paul Arriola calmly stepped up and found success from the penalty spot, inching Dallas into the match. That left the home squad down two goals with 12 minutes to go, and things only got more stressful from there as Dallas found the crossbar on a Petar Musa shot and then appeared to have a second goal as the game approached the 90th minute. The goal was correctly overturned after video review by referee Jair Maruffo due to Arriola being just offside in the buildup, and Orlando saw out the final minutes of stoppage time. Nonetheless, the closing minutes were far too stressful in a game Orlando City had dominated from the opening kick.

Those are my takeaways from a 3-1 road victory. Orlando City put in a solid effort across the board and now returns to the City Beautiful sitting in fourth place in the East with just a few games left to go in the regular season. Most importantly, the Lions qualified for the playoffs for the fifth straight season and can now work on securing a top-four position to get home field advantage in the best-of-three first round.

What stood out to you the most? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and, as always, vamos Orlando!