Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Three Keys to Victory

Orlando City got the job done in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, as a mixture of starters and backups managed to eke out a late 4-3 victory over the New England Revolution. All eyes now return to league play, where the Lions will hit the road once again, albeit in a much shorter trip to South Florida to face Inter Miami. What follows are my three keys to Orlando leaving Miami-Dade County with all three points.

Win the Midfield Battle

In the first meeting between the two teams, the game changed after halftime when Miami made substitutions, tweaked its formation to get more bodies into the midfield, and started controlling the match as a result. Colin Guske and Braian Ojeda did what they could, but Orlando City ultimately ceded too much control in the middle of the field, and Miami did a much better job at possessing the ball in dangerous central areas than it did in the first half. Plain and simple, that can’t happen on Saturday. Luis Otavio will likely start in the heart of midfield and if he can have the sort of game he did against Charlotte FC, it should help the Lions immensely. Otavio was key in that 4-1 win, as he recorded three tackles, one clearance, four interceptions, and eight recoveries, while winning five of his seven ground duels, and scoring an outstanding goal. Even if the goal isn’t replicated, having a repeat defensive performance would be huge.

Find the Release Valve

Teams that play Inter Miami tend to not have a lot of the ball. That’s simply a fact of facing off against the Herons, and it’s a fact that the Lions will be will acquainted with, given that Miami had 61% possession in the first meeting of the season between the two teams. When playing against teams that have high possession numbers, it’s important to make the most of the limited time that you get with the ball, especially if you win the ball in your own half while the opposition has numbers pushed upfield. Miami has shown itself to be vulnerable on the counterattack due to the number of players it gets into the attack, but Orlando needs to be precise with the ball after winning it in order to take advantage. That means getting the ball to a teammate further up the field, most likely Justin Ellis, and him holding up play successfully until other players can forward to provide support and options. If Orlando simply clears the ball to Miami’s defenders, or the Lion furthest upfield can’t hold up the ball well, pressure on the defense will slowly build while the team can’t generate looks at the other end.

Keep the Goals Coming

Following a positively barren start to the season in front of goal, the Lions have found their shooting boots and scored 10 goals in their last three games across all competitions. It probably isn’t an accident that Orlando has won two of those three games and should have taken at least a point from the other one. Soccer games are simply easier to win when you’re scoring, and doing so more than once, although it’s certainly no guarantee of success. Miami has scored at least twice in five of its last six games and has three wins and three draws in those contests. Against OCSC’s shaky defense, the Herons’ tendency to score multiple goals probably isn’t going to change, and that means the Lions are going to need to compensate at the other end of the field if they want to pick up a result.

There you have it, folks. As in life, there are no guarantees in soccer, but if the Lions can win the battle in midfield, find players up the field who can then hold up play after winning possession in their own defensive third, and continue the recent trend of scoring multiple goals, then it should put them in good position to come away from their trip to South Florida with all three points. Vamos Orlando!