Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Five Takeaways

Orlando City rode the roller coaster on Wednesday night, as the Lions went down early, came level on a brilliant set piece header, but then went down and stayed down after a silly challenge gave the Fire a penalty kick that was converted for the game winner in a 2-1 defeat. The Lions had chances to take points off one of the hottest teams in the league, but in the end they failed to do so and remain in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

Here are my five takeaways from the match.

Not An Ideal Start

Orlando City took the game’s opening shot after a nice passing sequence, but after starting brightly, the Lions completely switched off, allowing Chicago to get on the scoreboard first. Adrián Marín somehow lost track of Robert Lewandowski, allowing the Polish superstar a free header back across the box. Then David Brekalo hit a poor clearance straight to David Poreba. Poreba, who found a wide-open Puso Dithejane in the middle of the box, and he converted into the far corner. Robin Jansson was guilty as well, having assumed Lewandowski was offside (it was close) and stopping to stare at the linesman, as it was a calamitous start all around for the back line.

Sub(Marín)ed

Bernardo Rhein’s injury and Tahir Reid-Brown’s trade to St. Louis meant that Marín was the only left back on the roster, and thus he started on the back line on Wednesday. It was clear almost immediately, however, that Chicago wanted to attack down his flank, and it was also clear that Marín does not have the pace to play out there anymore as he was constantly on his horse and chasing the game. Losing track of Lewandowski (of all players!) had nothing to do with pace, but it was a poor moment among a series of them for the Spanish defender, and it was not a surprise to see him subbed off immediately once the game resumed from the weather delay.

The Captain Must Know Better

Orlando City tied the game up early in the second half via a great header from Brekalo, and the Lions were looking more dangerous than Chicago in the aftermath of that goal. But then Lewandowski got loose on the left side of the box, and made a driving run towards goal. Jansson beat him to the spot, however, pushing the former Barcelona striker wide enough that he did not have a great angle to shoot. The Beefy Swede chose to try to slide tackle Lewandowski to ensure that no shot was taken, even at that remote angle, and got all body and no ball. The referee pointed to the spot, and moments later Chicago was back in the lead 2-1. Jansson usually has excellent timing when going to ground but did not on this play, and it cost the Lions dearly.

Thunder and Lightning In the Sky, Not In the Attacking Third

The attacking group for the Lions generated more than twice as many shots and nearly three times as many touches in the box as Chicago, but for all the flicks and tricks and fancy interplay, they were unable to score from open play, and it was not due to a great game by goalkeeper Chris Brady. Orlando City needs a ruthless attacker to step up and put the ball in the back of the net, instead of a collective that seems more interested in getting the assist than the goal. Martín Ojeda’s absence was palpable in this one, as he likely would have been on the field instead of Tiago, or he would have started and Tyrese Spicer could have come on in the second half to close the game, and on a hot night with a nearly two-hour weather delay, there is a really good chance that Ojeda or supersub Spicer could have bagged at least one second-half goal. Marco Pašalić got loose a few times and immediately went for goal, and hopefully that rubs off on the other attackers in the upcoming games.

More Dropped Points

Chicago was on the road, with one fewer day of rest, missing one of its best players (Philip Zinckernagel) and Orlando City still could not pick up any points in what was an eminently winnable game. The Fire are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, so from the perspective of the standings this is not a surprising loss, but Orlando City looked like the better team for most of the game and came away empty handed, just as it did against Club León in Leagues Cup by the same score line. The Lions should have taken at least one point on Wednesday night, which would have pulled them within two of D.C. United for the conference’s final playoff spot.

Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s disappointing 2-1 home loss against Chicago. The Lions will look to close out a nearly three-week home stand with a win when they host Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.

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