Orlando City at Colorado Rapids: Five Takeaways

Orlando City traveled to Denver to take on the Colorado Rapids. The Lions were able to secure a 1-0 win over the Western Conference opponent thanks to a first-half goal from Martin Ojeda. The victory snapped the team’s two-match losing streak, allowing Orlando City to keep pace in the Eastern Conference. Here are my five takeaways from Saturday night’s match.

Oh-Yay-Da

For too many seasons it seemed like Orlando City wasn’t getting the most out of the club’s Designated Players. That hasn’t been the case this year, nor was it in the match against Colorado, at least for two of the DPs. Marco Pasalic made a nice pass to Martin Ojeda in the box to get the assist on Orlando City’s first goal. For his part, Ojeda hit it low, hard, and on target. Sometimes that is all you need. Despite getting a hand on it, goalkeeper Nico Hansen wasn’t able to keep it out, and the Lions took the lead.

An Expected Yellow

Most of you are not in the internal Slack chat for The Mane Land, but we discussed that there was a high probability that at least one of Orlando City’s center backs would get a yellow card, making that player unavailable for the next match. Rodrigo Schlegel proved us correct in the 31st minute when he fouled Djordje Mihailovic just outside the box. Fortunately, the foul was outside the box, and Colorado wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity. Hopefully, it won’t have an ill effect on the next match.

Early Defensive Shell

On the road with a one-goal lead and Schlegel on a yellow, Oscar Pareja got defensive early in the second half. We saw the return of Cesar Araujo — who did not get the start and, according to Pareja’s postgame comments, nearly didn’t make the trip because of back spasms this week — in the 58th minute for Luis Muriel. As Muriel hadn’t contributed much to the match, it was important to get fresh legs and an experienced player to help fend off the constant Colorado pressure. Orlando didn’t park the bus, but definitely went into game management mode, hoping to hit on the occasional counter.

Primo El Pulpo

Pedro Gallese was only credited with two saves in the match, but he definitely contributed much more than that. There was about a 10-minute a stretch of time from the 50th minute on that Colorado was creating more chances in and around the box. Pedro made one of his saves, blocked a couple of dangerous crosses that would have gone in without his play, and at least a few clearances. He added his second save, and generally did well to control his area. The two saves were both good ones. He’s not going to get a save-of-the-week award from MLS, but it was enough for me. It’s hard to argue with a clean sheet.

Attitude over Altitude

The early goal was important, as it allowed Orlando City to slow the match down and conserve energy as the minutes ticked by. This was especially noticeable after Araujo came on in the second half. The importance of the goal really showed late in the match, as many of the starters bounced up against the wall created by the altitude, as teams typically run out of gas in Colorado between the 60th and 75th minutes. The late subs, including youngsters Colin Guske and Nico Rodriguez, were able to help see it out despite Colorado pressing for the equalizer.

That is what I saw in the road victory. Let us know your thoughts about the Colorado match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!