Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Player Grades and Man of the Match

It took all they, had but the Lions got it done after giving up a 3-1 lead, letting Philadelphia come back to tie it up at 3-3, before Martin Ojeda finally put the game away in the 90th minute in a 4-3 home win over the Union. The Orlando offense continues to be a threat, but the defense will need much more bite if the Lions want to have any chance to compete for a playoff spot this year.

Let’s take a look at how the Orlando City players performed individually in this match.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crepeau, 6.5 — The Canadian goalkeeper had another good night for the Lions, helping keep Orlando’s defensive lapses from costing the team points. The Lions gave too much space to Philadelphia’s attacking players in the second half, and failed to track runners into the box. Crepeau did a good job of dealing with what came at him, making four saves, but he was not really at fault for Philadelphia’s goals. He did a decent job on his distribution with 77.3% passing accuracy on 22 attempts, although you wouldn’t know it by completed long balls, as he failed to connect on any of his five attempts. But that had more to do with Philadelphia winning aerial duels than his accuracy. Overall, it was another good night for Crepeau, who made his best of his four saves in the 57th minute, denying a header by Olwethu Makhanya.

D, David Brekalo, 5.5 — Brekalo didn’t make any really glaring mistakes but he could have done better on Philadelphia’s first goal. He shadowed Nathan Harriel as he approached the endline to send in a cutback, but he could have done more to impede his progress into the box and cut off the pass. He was not quite as involved as his other defensive partners either, finishing with one tackle and five clearances. He committed no fouls and was fouled twice himself. His passing accuracy was good at 91.1% on 45 passes. He was subbed off in the 64th minute, so he was not involved with the other Union goals.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Jansson did Jansson things all night. He connected on one really well weighted long ball, out of his three long ball attempts, sending Griffin Dorsey in on goal. He had another beauty of a pass to Martin Ojeda in midfield that was clever, but neither pass produced any end product after connecting. He logged one interception, eight clearances, and two blocks. He was involved in the run of play, making the most passes on the team, with 88, and connected with 93.2% accuracy. He committed no fouls, nor was he fouled.

D, Iago, 6 — Iago was a stable presence and made no major gaffes. He was a competent companion to Jansson and wasn’t directly responsible for any of Philadelphia’s goals. All in all, it was a decent showing on a night where the team gave up three goals. He attempted 82 passes with 95.1% accuracy. He connected on one out of four long balls. Like Jansson, he tallied one interception, eight clearances, and two blocks. He didn’t commit or receive any fouls.

D, Griffin Dorsey, 7 — Griffin had a great night offensively. He scored Orlando’s second goal and made several threatening attacks down his side of the pitch. He passed at 91.7% accuracy on 24 attempts, including one key pass, and he made one long ball attempt that did not connect. He finished with two tackles, one interception, one clearance and a blocked shot. He did not commit, nor did he receive a foul. He was effective in defense overall, but he could have done better to close down Ben Bender on the third Union goal, which took a slight deflection off of him and ended up out of Crepeau’s reach.

MF, Ivan Angulo , 7 — Angulo was his usual, speedy, hard-working self. He was everywhere and broke free to spark Orlando attacks frequently. Of course, he helped out in defense as well, contributing two tackles, one interception and a clearance. He committed three fouls and suffered one. He made one key pass, took a shot he put on target (Yay!), but it was a weak effort straight at the goalkeeper. He also failed to get onto a floating pass in front of an empty net that Martin Ojeda set up for him to finish. Angulo made up for that by picking up a secondary assist on the Argentinian Ojeda’s game-winning goal. The Colombian passed with an 87.5% success rate on 32 tries.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6.5 — This was one of Atuesta’s better performances this season. It wasn’t spectacular, but he seemed a little more proactive and stable this time out. He did not make any offensive contributions, but he racked up two tackles, one interception, three clearances, and a blocked shot. He committed one foul, and he made 44 passes with 87.8% accuracy. He made five long-ball attempts and connected on one.

MF, Braian Ojeda, 6.5 — The Paraguayan Ojeda put in a good shift overall, although I think he was mostly at fault, along with Dorsey, for being too slow to close down Bender on the Union’s third goal. Otherwise, he did pretty well in helping out the offense, contributing a key pass, passing with 87.8% accuracy on 41 attempts, and connecting on his two long ball attempts. He committed one foul and was fouled twice. Defensively, he made four tackles, and chalked up three clearances.

MF, Tiago, 5.5 — Tiago was involved throughout the match, but without much in the way of tangible output, at least not in the numbers. He put in a lot of hard work, but did not contribute much on offense, although Dorsey could never have scored Orlando’s second goal without the young Brazilian’s work to get the ball into a dangerous position in the box. Tiago helped out defensively with one tackle, two interceptions, and a clearance. He committed and received two fouls and passed at 58.3% on 12 passes. However he picked up an unnecessary yellow card for dissent, although he was understandably upset after heavy contact resulted in his shinguard going flying.

F, Martin Ojeda, 7.5 — Of course, it was a great night for Martin, although he also looked a bit off at times. He had some chances that you would expect him to make more of, but several times he either bobbled the ball, or took an inaccurate shot. But that’s all just relative to what you expect from Orlando’s number 10. His movement was spectacular, as he put himself in position for four (!) breakaways. Unfortunately, he fired two of those over the bar and failed to get a shot off on one after stumbling. His other breakaway forced a foul in the box on Andrew Rick, after which the Designated Player calmly scored on his penalty to open the scoring. Despite his missed chances, he also closed the scoring with a well-placed flicked header from Adrian Marin’s cross for the game winner. Additionally, Martin Ojeda contributed a key pass, three crosses, and one successful long ball on three tries. He attempted six shots, putting two on target. He was fouled twice and committed none. He contributed two tackles as well. Even when he’s a little off, the Argentine is still outstanding.

F, Justin Ellis, 8 (MotM) — Only a little more outstanding than Martin Ojeda on the evening, in my view, was Ellis. The Homegrown forward proved again that he can play at this level, and I think he’s been consistent enough to show he’s capable of making a serious impact for the Lions. Ellis has the combination of technical skill and composure, and a veteran-level vision for the key pass. He was able to dig himself out of difficult situations and executed several instrumental plays to spring the Lions’ attack, including three key passes. He began to fade a little bit toward the end of the match, but it hardly offsets his contributions. Ellis attempted one shot himself (off target), competed six dribbles, passed at 71% accuracy on 31 passes, and completed three out of five long-ball attempts. He wasn’t fouled, but he committed one himself.

Substitutes

D, Luis Otavio (64′), 6 — Otavio came on for Atuesta and needed some time to get up to speed, but he contributed some heads-up blocks and then did well to intercept a pass toward Orlando’s 18-yard box and spring Tyrese Spicer’s counterattack that earned Orlando’s third goal. He also had a nice ball to Spicer again to spring him down the left side in the 90th minute, which eventually led to Orlando’s winning goal. Defensively, Otavio finished with two tackles and one interception. He committed no fouls but was fouled once. He made 15 passes with 66.7% accuracy. He attempted two long balls that did not find their mark.

MF, Tyrese Spicer (64′), 7 — Spicer made a lot out of his time on the pitch, continuing his impact substitute role. He brought energy and grit to the offense. He powered his way through three defenders to break loose and send in the assist on Duncan McGuire’s goal. He was a threat going forward, as he has been all season. In addition to his assist, he sent in one cross and attempted one long ball that did not connect. He took one shot that was on target on a late header that he sent right at the keeper. He did not commit or suffer any fouls.

MF, Adrian Marin (64′), 5.5 — Marin made his mark on this one with his assist on the game-winning goal in the 90th minute. However, he also struggled to lock things down defensively at times. He only attempted 16 passes, achieving 68.8% accuracy. The Spaniard completed his lone cross, attempted four long balls (completing one), and did not commit or suffer any fouls.

F, Duncan McGuire (70′) 7 — McGuire put away Spicer’s feed expertly. He made it look easy, although he did have Philadelphia goalkeeper Andrew Rick to beat. It was his lone shot, and it was a good one, that put the Lions up 3-1 at the time. He also contributed a key pass. He had no other offensive or defensive stats and attempted only six passes, completing four (66.7%). He did not commit or receive any fouls. The big striker brought plenty of energy onto the pitch with him and helped track back and defend when needed.

F, Marco Pasalic (81′) N/A — The Croatian made his return from a thigh injury with a late cameo, but he wasn’t on the pitch long enough to give him a grade. However, his presence could be felt in his short time on the pitch. I think he did a good job helping to close out the match, and it was good to see him back out there.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in a much-needed Orlando win. It would have given me more confidence if it hadn’t been so difficult to beat the worst team in the Eastern Conference, but it is what it is. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.