Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo: Three Keys to Victory

Orlando City returns home to Inter&Co Stadium to take on the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. The Lions are coming off a 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew on Sunday, and a 1-0 road win against FC Naples in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday in a busy week. Hopefully, Orlando City can keep the good time rolling with another positive result this weekend. What must the Lions do to earn all three points against Houston Saturday night?

The Midfield (Part 1)

Houston has a pretty good midfield with Hector Herrera, Mateusz Bogusz, and Lawrence Ennali. Ennali has two of the Dynamo’s 10 goals this season. Controlling these players and thus controlling possession in the middle of the pitch will make a difference in how the match plays out. Braian Ojeda and Eduard Atuesta are not midfield destroyers and that has hurt Orlando City this season. If at all possible, the Lions need to be more physical in the defensive midfield to limit Houston’s ability to build the attack.

More on Herrera: In his first stint with the Dynamo he was a Designated Player and considered one of the best midfielders in the league. He helped lead Houston to a U.S. Open Cup title in 2024. Despite having only played limited minutes this season, he already has two assists and will present problems in the midfield.

The Midfield (Part Deux)

Traffic flows both ways on a soccer pitch, and while Orlando City hasn’t been good about taking on and stopping attacks in the defensive midfield, the players have also struggled to break through the opposition’s lines. This has been in large part due to very poor passing, and I’m not certain how to fix “stop passing the ball to the opponent,” but that is what the team will need to do.

Having Robin Jansson as the safety outlet for the others on the back line, and by extension the midfield, helps, as does his ability to send accurate long balls down the field. It would also be good if the rest of the players could connect on their passes. Not only will it allow Orlando City to move the ball down the pitch and connect the defense to the attack, but it will limit the amount of time Houston is on the ball. Passing shouldn’t be a key I write about, but here we are.

Finish Them

Orlando City struck first against the Columbus Crew and then wasted every other chance — that is, while there were chances still being created. It was like a switch was turned off. “Hey, we got a goal. Let’s go back to how we were playing when we weren’t scoring goals,” is how I think it went. That cannot happen against Houston — or any team for that matter. I’m not even talking about how sometimes a team will get more defensive with a lead, or the other team makes adjustments. There was some sort of mentality switch, and it needs to be fixed.

If Orlando City is able to score first, then someone needs to get a second goal. The Lions have only scored two goals in a match twice this season. The first was against Inter Miami, and we know what happened in that one. The other time was against CF Montreal — Orlando City’s only win so far. Houston isn’t as good as Miami but is probably better than Montreal. My point is the Lions most likely need multiple goals to win this match, and it starts with finishing.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!