Orlando City vs. CF Montréal: Five Takeaways

Orlando City wore its “Sunken Treasure” kits against Montreal and went ahead and sunk right back to looking like one of the weakest teams in Major League Soccer, losing 2-0 on the road against fellow Eastern Conference bottom dweller CF Montreal. It is not one of the takeaways, but I wish Orlando City would take away that jersey and find another road kit, because playing in yellow gold has not worked for the club this season.

Here are my five takeaways from the match.

Wasted Chances Early

Orlando City looked decent early, and created several chances in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, the Lions were wasteful with those chances, in particular a glorious opportunity from an Iago ball over the top to Eduard Atuesta. The Colombian midfielder was in alone on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat, which he did, but he also missed the goal entirely with his shot. After a good start the Lions were on their heels for most of the rest of the first half, but it could have been a completely different game had they gone ahead early, which they should have on Atuesta’s wasted breakaway.

Supersub Spicer, not Superstarter Spicer

Tyrese Spicer got the start in the midfield, and he did not bring the same energy or the magic as a starter that he has brought in recent games when he came in off the bench. He only completed eight passes during his 67 minutes and he never really looked threatening, including on the two shots he took. Befitting of his last name, he seems to be a tasty player when used in small amounts, but when used in large amounts it generally does not work, as it did not on Saturday in Montreal.

Lack of Second-Half Adjustments

Martín Perelman made all the right moves during halftime and the second half last weekend against Miami, but he decided to stick with the starters deep into the game against Montreal even though the offense looked somewhere between mediocre and average. In fairness to him, the Lions played better in the second half than the first, but they did not actually look good, and several players — in particular Iván Angulo and Spicer — struggled. Perelman finally brought on Duncan McGuire for Spicer in the 67th minute, but McGuire looked tentative and was wasteful with his opportunities. The only other move Perelman made in regulation was David Brekalo for Justin Ellis, which seemed designed more to hold on for a point on the road than to try to win the game. Montreal is not a great team and this was an eminently winnable game, but the tactical plan and execution were poor and the lack of substitutions to try to find a winner was worse.

Done In by Former Lion, Part 1

Orlando City played better in the second half than in the first, and late in the game the Lions seemed the team more likely to find a late winner. But then former Lion Luca Petrasso made a run up the left side of the field and into the box, and Iago, fearing a handball, tucked his arms behind his back while trying to stay in front of him. Iago briefly lost his balance while doing so, running past Petrasso, and the Montreal left back cut inside. Robin Jansson was there to stop Petrasso but he too lost his balance, but unfortunately fell right into Petrasso, giving Montreal a penalty kick out of what did not look to be a major threat. Daniel Ríos converted, and Orlando City was suddenly behind with very little time remaining.

Done In by Former Lion, Part Deux

Both teams made substitutions after the Montreal goal, and the home team brought on former Lion Dagur Dan Thórhallsson to try to hold the lead and take all three points. Despite trailing by a goal, Orlando City could not get organized, get out of its own end (a problem throughout much of the match), and into any kind of coherent attacking play. The Lions decided they would play the ball in the air multiple times instead of trying to complete passes on the ground in their own defensive third. They turned the ball over on an aerial ball and Thórhallsson subsequently blew right by Brekalo and hit what was probably one of the best-placed shots of his life, a rocket from outside the box that banked in off the far post, just past the outstretched hands of Maxime Crépeau. Former Orlando City players played major roles in both Montreal goals, which was especially brutal considering that the Lions barely generated more than one half of an expected goal as a team and their former teammates accounted for two goals against them.

Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s thoroughly disappointing 2-0 loss on the road in Montreal. The Lions will need to regroup quickly, as they return home to play the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday in another bottom-of-the-Eastern-Conference matchup.

Let us know your thoughts about the Montreal match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!