Orlando City at Nashville SC: Five Takeaways

Orlando City followed up the first win of the season against CF Montreal with the worst loss of the season so far. The 5-0 loss to Nashville SC was worse than the previous 5-0 loss to New York City FC, as this time the Lions were not playing a man down. To say it was a bad night would be an understatement.

Here is what I took from Orlando City’s humiliating loss.

Miller’s Mistake

Nashville doesn’t need any help scoring goals, but that is exactly what Nolan Miller provided in the 27th minute. Orlando City was defending a corner kick when Miller pulled down Jeisson Palacios in the box. Nashville was awarded the penalty, and Miller was awarded a yellow card for an unnecessary foul. Obviously, Sam Surridge put the resulting kick in the back of the net to extend Nashville’s lead to two. It was a well taken penalty kick that even if he’d guessed correctly, Maxime Crepeau was likely not saving.

It Could Have Been Worse

As embarrassing at this result is, it could have been much worse. I’m not saying that Crepeau had a great night, but he did have four big-time saves, including a one on one with Hany Mukhtar. I also think there wasn’t much he was able to do on Nashville’s first two goals. I already mentioned the penalty kick. The first goal by Cristian Espinoza was nearly unstoppable. Allowing five goals is never good, but it most certainly had the potential to be worse.

The Kids Aren’t Alright

This was one of, if not the, youngest squads the club has fielded. It was also the youngest bench. I’ve often said that sometimes it’s good to play the kids. Leagues Cup comes to mind. However, a match against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference is not a good time. To be fair, Martin Perelman didn’t have much of a choice. He had to start some of them and bring in others off the bench, but mistakes were made up and down the pitch by all. I’m in no way saying I expected them to be ready for this, but that is the job. This was a leaning opportunity. There will be more.

Historical Start

I could have simply made each of the goals a takeaway, but that was too depressing. This was the second time Orlando City allowed five goals in a match this season, and this time it was with all 11 players. It was the third match in which the Lions allowed at least four goals. In only five matches. The team has a -12 goal differential. The most goals allowed in a season so far by Orlando City is 74. According to our resident math guy, Andrew DeSalvo, the Lions are on pace to allow over 115 goals this season. That’s bad, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier, so buckle up.

No Standouts

I don’t envy Andrew having to write Player Grades and Man of the Match for this game. There were not any standout performances. It wasn’t any of Orlando City’s attacking players that came closest to scoring a goal, but rather defender Griffin Dorsey. Ivan Angulo couldn’t replicate his performance against Montreal, and Duncan McGuire came off in the 60th minute. I won’t even make any more mention of the defense. The score speaks for itself. Perelman stated that the Lions will “work hard” to improve after this performance. That might not be enough.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s embarrassing 5-0 loss to Nashville SC. If you’re able to stomach talking about it, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.