Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Three Keys to Victory

After playing its last game all the way back on May 31, Orlando City will return to action Saturday night when it takes on the Colorado Rapids out in Denver. What follows are three things that I think will go a long way towards helping the Lions get back to winning ways out on the edge of the Rocky Mountains.

Respond Well After Time Off

Having an extended break between games can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can give a team time to get healthy, rest up tired legs, and fix any issues that have become evident over the last few games. You might see an energized and focused performance after being able to recharge, implementing some tactical tweaks, and using the extra time to extensively prep for the upcoming match. On the other hand, you might also see a team with its fair share of ring rust. There’s a difference between practice intensity and game intensity, and sometimes it can be hard to ramp back up to the necessary levels after having an extended period of time without games. For Orlando City, it needs to be the former and not the latter. We were treated to an uncharacteristically sloppy performance during the 3-1 loss to the Chicago Fire in the team’s most recent game, and much of what we saw can probably be attributed to fatigue after a grueling May schedule. With any luck, the two weeks that the Lions got between games will help bring back the kind of performances that we saw during the extended unbeaten run.

Maintain Defensive Structure

The Rapids are currently ninth in the Western Conference with 22 points from 17 games. Goal-scoring issues are the primary reason for Colorado occupying the spot that it does, as it has scored just 18 goals in 17 games. The Rapids have scored more than two goals twice this season — in a 3-3 draw against FC Dallas, and a 3-2 home win against San Diego FC. Orlando City has largely tightened things up on defense after an oddly sloppy start to the season, although the defensive issues returned with a vengeance in the loss to Chicago. If the Lions can regain their usual stability at the back, then it’ll go a long way towards picking up three points against a team that’s tied for the seventh-fewest goals scored in the league.

Mute Mihailovic

The best way to go about neutralizing the Rapids on offense is to shut down Djordje Mihailovic. He has seven goals and three assists in 17 games and leads Colorado in both categories. Rafael Navarro is next on the goal contributions list with five goals and one assist, and there’s then a steep drop-off to Oliver Larraz, Cole Bassett, and Darren Yapi, all of whom have three goal contributions. Mihailovic also leads the team with 49 key passes, which is more than double what second-place Navarro has, with 22. Anybody can hurt you on any given day, and the Lions have an unfortunate habit of conceding goals to guys who never seem to score, but the numbers say that if you manage to contain Mihailovic, then it takes away a bulk of Colorado’s danger on offense.

So there you have it. If the Lions can have the right response after their time off, maintain the sort of defensive stability we’ve seen from them most of the year, and put a muzzle on Mihailovic, they should be well set up to claim all three points from their trip out to Denver.