Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Three Keys to Victory

Orlando City travels to Ohio for a regular-season match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. It will be the club’s third match in an eight-day span, the fourth game in 11 days, and the fifth match in 15 days during this crazy May schedule. The Lions are coming off a dominating 4-1 victory over Atlanta United in Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup match. This is a six-point match as Cincinnati sits just above Orlando City in the Eastern Conference standings. What must the Lions do to earn all three points against Cincinnati this weekend?

Push through the Pain

As mentioned above, Orlando City has played a lot of games with not a lot of rest. At least the Lions were able to schedule the Open Cup match on Tuesday rather than on Wednesday to give the players an extra day of rest heading into this road contest. The question is whether that day will be enough for tired legs to recover enough for the trip up north.

There was some, although not much, rotation through the two Atlanta matches, but there were not a lot of substitutions for some key players in the second match. I’m particularly worried about Robin Jansson, Martin Ojeda, Braian Ojeda, and Griffin Dorsey. Dorsey and the Ojedas in particular log a lot of miles during a match, given how Martin Perelman has them playing. Can the players make it through another 90+ minutes in the last match before the World Cup break? Three points are there for the taking if they can.

Offensive Might

When Orlando City is on, the Lions can score goals seemingly at will — at least against teams like Atlanta. Regardless of the opponent, scoring goals often leads to confidence and confidence is contagious. I’m not expecting Tiago to add another brace on Saturday, but I am hoping that Martin Ojeda continues his contributions, and Dorsey is on a tear with goals in three straight games in all competitions.

On paper, Cincinnati’s defense doesn’t appear too bad. Roman Celentano is a good goalkeeper, Matt Miazga and Miles Robinson are good defenders. Nick Hagglund is no slouch either. Despite that, Cincinnati has given up almost as many goals as Orlando City — 35 to Orlando’s 38. There is opportunity here if the offense that showed up in the second Atlanta match makes an appearance Saturday.

Clean Sheet…Bueller?

Orlando City does not have a clean sheet in the regular season so far this season and none in league play in nearly a calendar year. It won’t be any easier for this leaky defense against Cincinnati. The defense will face an attack that has 30 goals this season, including eight from Kevin Denkey and seven from Evander. Nine other players also have at least one goal. By comparison, Orlando City has only scored 21 goals.

Braian Ojeda has been better on defense lately, so I’m hoping that continues. As for the back line, it may depend on who we see out there. Dorsey has been pretty good, and Jansson is almost always a steadying presence. The question is whether we get good David Brekalo, Iago, or Adrian Marin, or the not-so-good versions. Hopefully, we get a focused defense, because this is not the same as playing Atlanta United.

That is what I will be looking for on Saturday night. The Lions can show things are headed in the right direction with a victory. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!