Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Five Takeaways

After an international break and back-to-back road victories, Orlando City returned home to Central Florida in a clash against Supporters Shield contender FC Cincinnati. The Lions ultimately dropped points in a pivotal top-of-the-table clash in a 2-1 home defeat. What follows are our five takeaways from the match.

Early Chances Wasted

FC Cincinnati jumped out to an early lead in the possession battle, controlling the pace of play for most of the first 10 minutes of the match. While Orlando did well to defend, it seemed difficult at times to link play into a meaningful attack. Once the Lions settled down, however, they were without question the more aggressive side in the first half, firing shots that were often blocked, off target, or — in a couple of instances — saved. Orlando City lacked the clinical finishing touch during the opening 45 minutes that it has so often excelled at throughout the first half of the season.

A Disastrous End to the First Half

Disaster set in for Orlando City immediately before halftime as Cesar Araujo was called for a foul quite a good way from the goal. Evander and Lukas Engel lined up over the kick as Orlando set its line, and instead of sending a cross into the box, after a fake by Engel, Evander struck the ball toward Gallese’s near post. It was a good strike, and it caught Gallese cheating toward the far post. It’s an attempt that El Pulpo should have saved, but against Cincinnati, he got caught flat-footed, and by the time he got to the ball to catch it, it had already crossed the line, changing the complexion of the game. 

Cincinnati Doubles the Lead

With Orlando pushing to equalize throughout much of the second half, it was only a matter of time before Cincinnati found an opportune moment to hit the Lions on the counterattack. After making a great save in the 64th minute to keep things at only a one-goal difference, Gallese could not muster the same type of magic 10 minutes later, when Cincinnati found itself with a 3-v-1 advantage. The transition effort proved to be the eventual match winner. It also notched a brace for Evander as David Brekalo and Robin Jansson, unfortunately, could not slow down the attack enough to allow for additional reinforcements to arrive in time.

Cardiac Cats Didn’t Quite Show Up

Orlando City has a reputation as the Cardiac Cats for pulling victories or draws from the jaws of defeat. The same could not ultimately be said about Saturday’s loss to Cincinnati but not for lack of trying. Orlando sparked hope when Marco Pasalic ran onto Martin Ojeda’s desperate lunge to keep the ball in the box and slammed it into the back of the net in the 87th minute. It was the Designated Player’s 10th goal of the season across all competitions, but ultimately meant very little in the grand scheme of the game as Orlando failed to find an equalizer late.

Chances for a Late Point

When the fourth official flashed 10 minutes of second-half stoppage time on his board, for a brief second I allowed myself to believe that the Lions might be able to salvage a point. Facing one of the longest durations of stoppage time that the team has encountered over the entire season just felt like it had the makings of a Hollywood ending, which could see the Orlando City faithful walking back to their cars happy and content with a draw. Instead, it saw both Ramiro Enrique and Brekalo miss golden opportunities to draw the game level. The first great opportunity fell onto the head of Enrique, who got to Rafael Santos’ near-post cross, only to find himself unable to redirect a free header towards the frame. The far more egregious miss was Brekalo’s in the ninth added minute. The Slovenian found himself on the end of a well-timed and weighted cross from Luis Muriel, but the center back got under his shot and put it over the bar from six yards out.

Orlando City will look to steady the ship with a full week of rest before heading back on the road for another Eastern Conference clash against Charlotte FC. Saturday’s loss to a strong Cincinnati team stings, but the Lions push on. Let us know what your main takeaways from the match were in the comments below, and as always, vamos Orlando!