Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

The Lions gave away an early opening goal, stormed back in the second half to take the lead, and then gave the game away in the last few minutes in a 3-2 road loss Saturday night at D.C. United. Once again, Orlando City led possession, keeping the ball 58.1% of the time to D.C.’s 41.9%, but it wasn’t enough to put a result on the board. Martin Perelman chose to roll out a repeat of Wednesday’s lineup, but the lack of focus cost the Lions at the end.

How did each player perform? Let’s dive in on how Orlando City’s players rated individually in a matchup with Houston.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crépeau, 5.5 — Three goals allowed is never a good night for a goalkeeper, but it’s hard to fault him for any of them. He couldn’t really pick up the ball until it was on the way for the first one and it was perfectly placed, the second was a deflection, and he had no chance on the third with how it came in from point-blank range. You want to see an experienced goalkeeper prevent one of those, but he also had three others that he had to work to save. He finished with 82% passing (but 0-for-3 on long balls) and three saves, but the team needed a moment of brilliance that never came from him to preserve a result.

D, Adrian Marin, 5.5 — Marin was mostly responsible for the opening goal as he tried to hand off Jackson Hopkins to Robin Jansson but left Hopkins too much room. He also gave away an attack in the 19th minute by trying to head the ball on a promising switch instead of controlling it. Regularly, he was beaten down his side, leading to dangerous crosses or shots. In one moment of light, his through ball in the 67th minute opened up Tyrese Spicer for a goal from a bad angle. If we add one assist to being responsible for the first goal, those wash at best, and we’re left with the rest of the game, which wasn’t notable. Marin finished with two tackles, one block, an assist, and 84% passing for the night.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — Jansson wasn’t able to react to Hopkins in time to close him down for the opening goal. Other than that, Jansson wasn’t asked to emergency defend as much this game, but three goals went in, so no one gets any kudos on the defense for this match. Jansson was accurate as usual with his passing at 94% but only contributed one block and no tackles. He’s also credited with a secondary assist on the Spicer goal, but it wasn’t a particularly insightful pass.

D, Iago, 5.5 — Iago picked up a yellow card in the fourth minute for a professional foul breaking up an attack, which is a rough way for a central defender to live for the rest of the game. He was a little slow reacting to Louis Munteanu’s run in the 80th, allowing the forward a crack at goal that went just wide. Iago is going to grow into a problem for opposing set-piece defenses as he gets more experience, because he’s definitely able to use his big frame to work his way open on corners. He’ll need to be more clinical with them though. Iago finished with one block, two tackles, a 92% passing rate, and, oddly, five touches in the opposition box — the most on the team.

D, Zakaria Taifi, 5 — The most I can say about Taifi is that he was subbed out at halftime for Griffin Dorsey. D.C. United tested him regularly in the first half and, while he didn’t fail the test, at best he gets a “present” grade. He’s been inconsistent at right back, which is not unusual for a younger player, but seeing Dorsey come in for the second half was a relief. Taifi finished with a 70.6% passing rate and one tackle.

MF, Tiago, 5.5 — It wasn’t Tiago’s night, and he made a quick exit in the 61st minute, giving way for Spicer. Tiago turned the ball over in the 27th minute in the defensive third, leading to a promising attack by Munteanu that he didn’t get enough on to worry Crepeau. The Brazilian also dribbled himself into trouble in the 33rd on a promising break and turned it over. He never found himself in a place to put any pressure on D.C. He found himself with no shots, only two touches in the box, two tackles, and an 88% passing percentage.

MF, Luis Otavio, 5.5 — The most excitement Otavio brought to the game was in the 74th minute with a two-footed tackle that almost brought out a red card. He later had another two-footed tackle but got the ball cleanly. He’s going to need better form or he will start seeing red cards. His deflection on the second goal wasn’t really his fault, as he was trying to close down an open Munteanu and block the shot. He made way for Wilder Cartagena in the 88th minute and finished with two tackles and 83% passing accuracy.

MF, Braian Ojeda, 5.5 — Braian was not as visible as he has been the past couple of games. He’s usually breaking up plays and coordinating through the midfield, but it just wasn’t as apparent in this game. Ojeda was pulled out of position in the 27th minute, allowing Munteanu an open crack at goal that Crepeau had to parry away. For D.C.’s second goal in the 84th minute, he let Munteanu get space, which caused Otavio to scramble to try to block it. The deflection by Otavio fooled Crepeau enough to allow the ball into the net. As befits a mostly invisible performance, he passed at an 88% rate and logged one tackle and two interceptions.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Hermann Hesse in Steppenwolf (the book, not the band) said “There is in every one of us…a terrible inner duality, a battle between the angel and the devil.” Thus is the situation with Angulo almost every game. He will make intelligent passes and runs with his hustle, opening up a defense like a surgeon, and then have a heavy touch here or a sloppy tackle there to cause problems for his own team. His skill opened up the D.C. defense for Justin Ellis’ goal in the 57th minute. Digging into the numbers, Angulo finished with 78% passing, one tackle, and two interceptions. The box score doesn’t credit him with an assist on the Ellis goal, but that goal doesn’t happen without his involvement, as he made a great move to get to the end line and sent the ball across for Dorsey to head on goal. Sean Johnson’s save rebounded to Ellis for the finish. On the other side, while we don’t have giveaway stats, he was dispossessed once and was only successful on two of his four attempted dribbles.

F, Justin Ellis, 6.5 (MotM) — Ellis is starting to grow more comfortable in MLS and we’re seeing some hold-up play abilities in only a six-foot frame, which brings something that is missing when Duncan McGuire isn’t on the field. He also has some poacher instincts, finding spaces to pounce on the ball. He kept himself onside and was able to hold off the defender to control the rebound off Dorsey’s header and score his first MLS goal in the 56th minute, tying the game at the time. He tested Johnson in the 78th with a near-post blazer that he created with his own pace and hustle. A forward doesn’t show up on the stat sheet as much as other players — you want them to show up on the score sheet — but Ellis finished with one goal, 68% passing, and three shots on target.

F, Martín Ojeda, 5.5 — This may have been a game to get Ojeda a rest as he was loose with the ball most of the game and didn’t have his normal impact. He turned the ball over in the 80th with a switch that led to a great shot by Munteanu that he squeezed just wide. It was the best pass of the night for Ojeda, just to the wrong team. He finished with 82% passing and one shot (off target), which is a small stat line for someone who usually drives the attack. He scored a goal that would have made it 3-1, but an offside in the buildup was called.

Substitutes

MF, Griffin Dorsey, (46′), 5.5 — Dorsey came in at the halftime break for Taifi and, not five minutes later, dribbled his way through the defense to create an opening and earn a corner. He got caught up too high on the field in the 55th minute, allowing D.C. a break in the gap left by him, but it didn’t lead to a goal. It was Dorsey’s header in the 56ht minute that Sean Johnson saved but to Ellis for the first goal. Unfortunately, on the other side, it was Dorsey’s mark, Kye Rowles, that found space in the 90th to head home the winning goal. Dorsey let him get ball-side and Rowles headed in the winner. The veteran fullback gets a significant downgrade for that mistake but otherwise had a positive impact on the game. He finished with one shot and two tackles to go with 73% passing.

MF, Tyrese Spicer, (61′), 5.5 — Spicer brought his pace in for Tiago. His impact was immediate. He kept himself onside and sent a rocket to the far post for Orlando City’s second goal in the 67th minute and, just two minutes later, carved D.C. open again, eventually leading to Martin Ojeda’s goal that was called back for Spicer not quite staying onside. He burned the D.C. defense and delivered a cross to Ellis’ head for an open attempt in the 74th. It was a Man of the Match performance in just 30+ minutes until the very end. A D.C. corner went to the far post and Spicer was too passive in trying to flick it over his head to clear. It ended up bouncing off Jacob Murell right to Rowles, who finished off the winning goal. Spicer ended up with one goal, one tackle, and a paltry 33% passing.

D, Tahir Reid-Brown (82′), N/A — Reid-Brown came in for Ellis to add more defense and preserve the lead. He had one instance in the 89th minute where he was 15 yards behind the play when D.C. intercepted a pass but was able to hustle back and break up a cross. That recovery was the only significant stat on his sheet. He didn’t have any of the bad plays we sometimes see from him, but he was only on the field for 18 minutes — not enough to earn a grade — and he made a couple of late mistakes that led to promising attacks fizzling.

MF, Wilder Cartagena (88′), N/A — It was good to see Cartagena back on the field and working his way back to game fitness as the schedule is packed over the next week. Cartagena picked up a yellow card for a high tackle in the eighth minute of added time. Cartagena wasn’t on the field long enough to earn a grade but contributed one tackle and 9-for-12 passing in just 10 minutes. But it’s good that he doesn’t get a grade, because he looked a step slow for the duration he was on the pitch, and it was his unforced turnover via errant pass that turned into the corner kick on which D.C. scored the winning goal. It’ll be interesting to see if Perelman uses him as a starter for the upcoming U.S. Open Cup game mid-week against New England.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 1-0 loss to Houston. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.