Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Five Takeaways

Orlando City made the short trip north to face Charlotte FC for the second of two regular-season meetings. After previously beating the Crown 3-1 back on May 14 of this year, Charlotte looked poised to return the favor after jumping out to a lead late in the first half and then extending it to a two-goal advantage in the 65th minute. Instead, in a game widely devoid of any rhythm, Orlando City flipped the script on the home side, scoring two goals over the final 25 minutes to salvage a 2-2 road draw. What follows are my five takeaways from a topsy-turvy match that left me with a bit of whiplash.

Brekalo’s Eventful Half

Slotted into his usual position as left back, and just a week removed from missing a golden opportunity to tie the match against FC Cincinnati, David Brekalo had another one of the best opportunities to score in the opening 15 minutes of the match. The Slovenian found himself unmarked on the opposite side of the field from the ball, and Marco Pasalic did well to spot the open run and send in a high, arching cross which cleared everyone and allowed Brekalo a free header. The angle and pace of the cross was taking it quickly away from frame, but Brekalo did well to redirect it with pace towards the near post, forcing Kristijan Kahlina to make a diving save at the last moment.

It should have made for a highlight-reel goal, but Kahlina had just the extra split second of time that he needed to react and push the ball away. Brekalo’s eventful first half wasn’t done yet, as he was whistled for a yellow card a few minutes later after being pulled down from behind by Brandt Bronico. The momentum of the tug knocked the defender off balance and caused Brekalo’s elbows to instinctively jerk backwards, and his left elbow made its acquaintance with Bronico’s face. Bronico began to bleed, and Brekalo was shown a head-scratching yellow card. At the end of the first half, Brekalo was responsible for half of Orlando City’s shots and shots on target.

Charlotte Catches Lions Napping

It has been widely documented that Charlotte has struggled to score, and just flat out struggled in general over the last two months, winning only three times across all competitions going back to April 26. Without the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Patrick Agyemang, one could easily have assumed that those struggles were likely to continue. The Crown arguably should have scored about 15 minutes before their first goal as Kerwin Vargas took an excellent shot attempt off the volley but was met with an even better reaction save from Pedro Gallese.

Instead, Charlotte had to settle for the opening goal in the 40th minute as Pep Biel made a late run toward the box and found himself virtually unmarked as the run came inside Martin Ojeda and caught Cesar Araujo a bit flat-footed. Upon receiving the pass, Biel fired a well-placed shot into the inside netting at the far post, beating a fully outstretched Gallese. I don’t mean to take anything away from the quality of the shot, which was excellent, but the fact that a player of Biel’s caliber was able to find that much open territory comes down to poor defending as much as it does a great offensive effort.

Lions Punished for Miss

The beginning of the second half played out much the way that the first half did, with very little rhythm or momentum for either side. The game began to open up just after the hour mark, and Orlando looked poised to tie up the match as Ramiro Enrique made a wonderful run, beat Kahlina, and sent a shot towards an empty net, only to be denied on the goalline by Nicholas Scardina. Failing to score came back to bite the Lions just a few moments later. Charlotte earned a free kick in the 65th minute and made the most of the opportunity as poor marking allowed Bill Tuiloma to redirect the ball from point-blank range in front of Gallese and put Charlotte up 2-0 with a little more than 20 minutes to go in the game.

Enrique Quickly Pulls One Back

Just four minutes after Charlotte took a two-goal advantage, Enrique slotted home a strong cross from Ojeda to claw back a goal for Orlando City. After being robbed of a goal earlier, Enrique left nothing to chance on his second open-net opportunity, bringing Orlando City back to within a goal with a good chunk of time remaining. While the finish was not overly complicated, the series of passes between Ojeda, Rafael Santos, and Luis Muriel to create the opportunity certainly was and required a high degree of perfect timing and placement.

Pasalic Completes the Comeback

It seemed as if a switch was flipped collectively in the minds of the Orlando City players after the Enrique goal. In a flash, it was as if the team remembered how to play high-quality soccer again, and the Lions started attacking from all angles. In the 80th minute, Pasalic blasted a shot into the back of the net, which happened so fast that it caught Kahlina flat-footed, completing the comeback. The buildup, much like the first goal, was filled with quality touches and included a brilliant effort from Enrique to shield off a defender without fouling, allowing Pasalic the space to run onto a perfectly weighted ball that Muriel played back for the Croatian international.

Orlando City returns home next weekend to face CF Montreal in a match in which OCSC will be without Gallese and Robin Jansson, who acquired their fifth yellow cards during the match against Charlotte and will now serve one-match suspensions for yellow card accumulation. This game certainly left me with some whiplash, but ultimately, earning a point on the road in MLS is nothing to scoff at. Let us know what your main takeaways from the match were in the comments below, and as always, vamos Orlando!