Orlando City

Orlando City at Houston: Player Grades and Man of the Match

Published

7 years ago

May 7, 2017

It was a game that is best just forgotten. A 4-0 loss in Houston and a game where there were no standout players. Three games in the last eight days had a drastic effect on the Lions and they seemed fatigued and slow the entire game.

Let’s see how each player did, but, just a warning, it is not pretty.

Starters

GK, Joe Bendik, 3 — This may just have been Bendik’s worst ever performance with Orlando City. He got beat near post on the first goal from a shot from distance. The second goal he let in went through his legs and trickled into the back of the net. There is not much he could have done with the last two goals, but the first two went in because of his mistakes. After that, the defense pushed up and the Lions got caught on the break. If Bendik takes care of those first two goals, they don’t go down 2-0, and Orlando does not push forward.

D, Donny Toia, 4 — Alberth Elis got the better of Toia all night. Defensively, Toia was slow and got beat way too often. On the first goal, he did not put much pressure on Elis, and Elis took advantage of it. He got beat in a two-on-one situation that led to a cross into the box and the second goal of the game. He picked up a yellow late in the game, as he took out Elis from behind on a restart. All in all he looked slow and tired throughout.

D, Tommy Redding, 6 (MOTM)— It is weird to give a defender the Man of the Match in a four-goal loss, but none of the goals were much to do with Redding. He made some crucial clearances in the box and, as always, was comfortable on the ball and distributed it well, which is reflected in his 87% passing accuracy. He was caught up the field on Houston’s final two goals, but the entire team was pressing to attempt a comeback.

D, Jose Aja, 5.5 — It was his first game back from injury but you could never tell it. In a game that his team let in four goals, Aja played well all night, especially when considering that he was not fully match fit. He was caught ball watching on the second goal and slow to get over to cover Mauro Manotas. Other than that it was a solid game from Aja.

D, Scott Sutter, 4.5 — Sutter simply looked exhausted all night long. His touch was spot on and he seems to always find an open player. He also had numerous defensive stops and was an offensive threat on the right hand side, but defensively he was too slow. It seems as if this 270 minutes in the past three games got the better of the Sutter, and he will do some good with a week of rest.

MF, Antonio Nocerino, 5 — Lasting 58 minutes, Nocerino was on the bad end of a turnover that led to Houston’s second goal. He was triple covered and tried to dribble out of harm’s way, but lost the ball and Houston scored on the play. He was caught in no-man’s land on Houston’s first goal, although it did not have an effect as Elis took the ball himself and beat Toia. Defensively, he made seven clearances and recoveries, his passing was overall good.

MF, Will Johnson, 5 — With Kaká on the bench and Jonathan Spector not in the 18, Johnson was the leader on the Lions and could be seen directing his teammates. He was one of the Lions to bring down Mauro Manotas in the 11th minute to draw the penalty. The penalty seemed harsh, but Johnson definitely made contact. His overall performance was exceedingly average, not doing any spectacular or awful, as he returned from an illness in the midweek that kept him out against Toronto. He had a chance to tie the game in the 47th minute as a ball fell to his feet on the top of the box. He did not get enough power on the volley, though, and it was a training ground save for Willis.

MF, Luis Gil, 5 — Gil had some pretty nice moments. First, half of Orlando City’s shots on target and 33% of the total shots came from Gil. He had a few nice dribbles, runs, and passes that broke Orlando City out into the attack. However, he also had some bad turnovers that led to Houston going on the counter. Most notably was his turnover in the 65th minute that led to the Dynamo going on the counter and scoring their third goal.

MF, Matias Perez Garcia, 5 — MPG was all over the field and was a workhorse all night. It seemed Houston had a game plan of stopping MPG no matter what it takes and the Argentine won five free kicks for the Lions. His set pieces were poor connecting on none of his three attempts. Just like most of the rest of his team, he had a few bad turnovers. While MPG did not have a terrible game, he will want to put it behind him and not look back.

F, Giles Barnes, 4.5 — In his first game against his old team, Barnes was substituted after 58 minutes in a disappointing outing. His only shot attempt of the game came in the 56th minute. It was a half-volley off a nice flick from Larin, but it was on his weak foot on a half volley and Barnes did not get his hips around, skewing it off target. He had 11 total passes — four of which came in the final third and all four were unsuccessful.

F, Cyle Larin, 4.5 — Larin did not necessarily have a bad game; he simply was invisible most of the time. It could be said that the reason for this was that the midfield failed to get him the ball, but that is not a good excuse at this level. He only managed to get one shot that was easily saved by Willis, and a few defensive stops around midfield. Other than that it was as if the Canadian was not even in the game.

Substitutions

M, Kaká (58’), 4.5 — When he came in Orlando City seemed re-energized, but it did not last long. He had only 16 passes and one shot (wide) in a little over 30 minutes. Orlando needed some flair off the bench and Kaká tried but failed to deliver. After the fourth Houston goal, Kaká did not do much at all and the game seemed all but over.

F, Carlos Rivas (58’), 4 — Rivas’ 44% passing accuracy is simply awful. Same as Kaká, he failed to provide flair off the bench and the team did not look much better from when he entered the game.

M, Cristian Higuita (71’), 5 — By the time Higuita got into the game, the ending was already written. He was pushed up the field almost the entire time, and was not impactful in the defense. Offensively he was good at distributing but it was all in the middle third of the field.

That’s how I saw it. What did you think? Vote for your City MotM below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Polling Closed

Player	Votes
Matias Perez Garcia	5
Tommy Redding	30
Jose Aja	1
Luis Gil	0
Anyone who watched the full 90 minutes	123

Related Topics:Player Grades SBN_migrated

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Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo: Five Takeaways

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Five Takeaways

What did we learn from a hectic 1-0 home loss to FC Cincinnati?

Published

13 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Nic Josey

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City got bull rushed in the opening 30 seconds of the match against Eastern Conference rival FC Cincinnati, falling 1-0 at home Saturday. The match saw a red card for both squads, although Orlando’s came early in the match while Cincinnati’s came late, and multiple injury substitutions for the Lions before the final whistle. Ultimately the match will go down as a loss in the record books, but something has to be said for the fact that the Lions did not let this one get out of hand and continued to battle.

Here are my five takeaways from the match.

Cincinnati finds Early Success

I didn’t even have time to take my seat with drink in hand before the Lions found themselves down a goal. Luciano Acosta got on the end of a DeAndre Yedlin long ball to start the match and dribbled through three Orlando defenders to slot the ball home 22 seconds into the match, scoring the fastest goal in FC Cincinnati history. It proved to be the deciding goal of the match and took place less than a minute into the game.

Close but No Cigar

Orlando nearly answered back four minutes later from a corner kick sent in by Martin Ojeda which fell to Wilder Cartagena. The shot attempt found the bottom of the crossbar and then was ultimately cleared out of danger, but it carried with it the chance to completely reset the tone of the match. The shot was a good volley effort by Cartagena with a high degree of difficulty, but he hit it just inches high or the game would have been knotted at one before the five-minute mark.

Early Red Card Changed the Game

Cincinnati seemed like it was poised to go up by two goals as Yuya Kubo was in alone on goal with only Pedro Gallese left to defend. Rodrigo Schlegel, whose misplay of a pass at midfield created the break to start with, came streaking in from behind and appeared to have broken the play up, leading to a Gallese save. The play was ultimately reviewed by referee Ismail Elfath, who deemed that Schlegel made contact with Kubo’s trailing leg, tripping him. Due to it being a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, Schlegel was shown a straight red card and Orlando was forced to play a man down starting in the 23rd minute. The call proved costly for multiple reasons. Oscar Pareja was forced to sacrifice an offensive piece — Ojeda — to send on David Brekalo. The Lions went to three center backs, with Cartagena playing between Brekalo and Jansson, with Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Rafael Santos serving as wingbacks.

Injury Bug Bites Both Fullbacks

If dealing with a red card wasn’t enough, Orlando was dealt two additional major blows to its back line, as both Thorhallsson and Santos exited the match due to injuries. Thorhallsson was originally checked by the medical staff after blocking — with the back of his head — the Cincinnati free kick that Schlegel conceded. He was cleared to continue by the medical staff but went down again behind the play about 18 minutes later and had to be helped off.

So, effectively, Schlegel’s mistake took two players off the pitch, although one was eligible for replacement.

Shortly after halftime, Santos made a valiant effort to break up a Cincinnati transition after an Orlando corner kick. His sliding challenge was a vital one, as he put in a clean tackle and prevented a dangerous scoring opportunity. However, he was clearly favoring what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder after the play and came off for Michael Halliday.

Pareja said it was a dislocated shoulder for Santos after the match and added the Brazilian would be evaluated further. Thorhallsson passed his initial checks after he blocked the Luca Orellana free kick, including the training staff tracking his eye movement with a flashlight, but Pareja said the onset of his symptoms were delayed. He displayed concussion-like symptoms after going down the second time, and he will be evaluated further by the medical staff.

For a back line that has had glaring issues to start the year, long-lasting injuries to starters could prove to be devastating, especially in a May filled with six matches.

Orlando Keeps Fighting

It is hard to maintain a positive outlook looking up the table at so many teams now almost a third of the way through the season, but in a game in which the odds were stacked against them, the Lions never hung their heads. Instead, over the last half hour, they continued to be the aggressors and eventually found themselves even on manpower again after Cincinnati went a man down in the 78th minute. While a few last gasp efforts could not find the back of the net, Orlando’s body language demonstrated that they believed they were in the match until the end. A game which could have easily wound up as a 2-0 or 3-0 result was never allowed to get out of hand. Moral victories — am I right?

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s home loss to FC Cincinnati. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 1-0 as 10-Man Lions Concede Early Once Again

A goal conceded early and a first-half red card put Orlando in a bad spot early and the Lions could never recover in yet another home loss.

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Michael Citro

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Luciano Acosta scored less than half a minute after kickoff and Rodrigo Schlegel was sent off in the 23rd minute, yet the Lions still had opportunities to beat FC Cincinnati at Inter&Co Stadium. That was especially true after Cincinnati (6-2-3, 21 points) also had a man sent off late in the second half. However, great goalkeeping by Roman Celentano and the same lack of finishing touch that has plagued Orlando (2-5-3, 9 points) all season was again on display and the Lions fell 1-0, dropping to a pitiful 1-3-2 at home on the year.

“Another frustrating night, because the result obviously at this point where we are with urgency to add points is the feeling that we all had in the locker room,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But I think the effort and the character of the players demonstrates that we still are brave and were trying to bounce back. I thought we were the best team, but that doesn’t give us anything.”

Pareja’s lineup was almost the same as the starting XI against Toronto, with Schlegel starting over David Brekalo, who was on the bench. Pedro Gallese was in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena started in the central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.

Cincinnati needed just 22 seconds to open the scoring. DeAndre Yedlin sent Acosta down the right wing and the Cincy Designated Player cut inside twice to beat two defenders and his shot bulged the net behind Gallese to make it 1-0. It was his sixth goal of the season.

22 SECONDS IN 😳

Take a bow, Lucho Acosta!

📺 Free on Apple TV: https://t.co/nZAUo56t7A pic.twitter.com/5qJ4KDDA0c
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 4, 2024

“You can say we weren’t concentrated at the start, or you can say anything, but the reality is that can’t be allowed to happen, and that’s something that we talked about amongst the players as well,” Gallese said.

Orlando came within inches of tying the game in the fifth minute on the game’s first corner kick. Ojeda sent in a good ball that fell to Cartagena’s foot The Peruvian’s volley shot crashed off the front of the crossbar and the visitors cleared.

The next good chance for either side came in the 19th minute off a free kick won by Araujo. Taking the set piece himself, the midfielder hit his entry ball off the defenders in front of him, but he was able to recycle it wide. The ball was sent across the box and bounced just inches behind where Torres could get to it and bounced harmlessly away.

A minute later, the game changed for the worse for the Lions.

Schlegel appeared to have plenty of time to make a routine play on the ball but somehow got himself in a poor position and had it taken away. Yuya Kubo broke in toward goal all alone and Schlegel caught up from behind, knocking the ball away. Referee Ismail Elfath initially ruled that he made a clean tackle but after Orlando won a corner kick at the other end, he took a look at the monitor and changed his call. Schlegel was sent off and Cincinnati awarded a dangerous free kick just outside the penalty area.

Thorhallsson blocked the ensuing free kick but was a bit shaken up and needed a quick visit from the trainers before continuing.

Brekalo came on for Ojeda and Orlando shifted to a 5-3-1, looking to keep Cincinnati to just the one goal and hoping to find opportunities to counter. Neither side was able to create much after the formation change, but the visitors were hardly pressing with the lead already in their pockets.

Thorhallsson went down off the ball just before halftime and needed to be helped off the field. Michael Halliday replaced him.

The Lions had the best chance in first-half stoppage time, as a ball into the box fell dangerously in front for Halliday. He and a Cincinnati defender went down with the ball next to them and Angulo tried to dig it out so he could shoot, but the defense arrived and cleared the danger.

“It just kind of bounced around. I tried to do everything I could to just kick it towards the goal, but his foot was there and then it just got caught up, so there was nothing I could do,” Halliday said.

That was the last sight of goal for either side and Cincy took its one-goal lead to the break.

Cincinnati unsurprisingly held the advantage in possession (55.1%-44.9%) and passing accuracy (90.3%-82.2%), and also led in shots on target (2-0). Orlando City attempted more shots (4-3), and won more corners (3-1).

Orlando City came out of the locker room looking to get even on the scoreboard, and the first chance of the half went to the Lions. Angulo blazed down the right and got to a loose ball first. He beat his defender and rounded the keeper, but that action allowed the defense to get back and clear his shot off the line in front of goal in the 48th minute. A follow-up shot by Araujo was deflected just wide seconds later.

Cincinnati tried to break in transition off the ensuing Orlando corner and Santos did well to track back and make a sliding challenge to prevent a scoring chance. Unfortunately, the Brazilian appeared to dislocate his right shoulder doing so. He came off and was replaced by Nico Lodeiro, with Angulo sliding back to the left back position.

Halliday made a sliding effort to get to an Angulo cross in the 56th minute but the ball was just inches out of reach in front of a gaping net. The flag came up on the play afterward, but it appeared Angulo did well to time his run and the review would have been interesting had Orlando scored.

Cartagena thought he scored in the 68th minute as he blasted a shot into the back of the net. The flag, however, came up for an offside on Torres, adding to the series of unfortunate events. Elfath never went to the monitor for the review. This time, he took the word of video assistant referee Fabio Tovar.

“Very frustrated with the call on the goal that was taken from us,” Pareja said. “I don’t know why (Elfath) did not go and see it. Since we have technology and we can have space to take time and make good decisions. At this point in my review it was just very doubtful.”

Jansson couldn’t quite get onto a header across the box by McGuire in the 70th minute off an Orlando set piece, as the Lions continued to look for the equalizer.

The visitors nearly doubled their lead in the 71st minute when Kubo got sent in down the right channel. He tried to go near post but missed just wide of the right upright.

Elfath leveled the playing field in the 78th minute when second-half sub Bret Halsey committed a foul on Angulo and then knocked the ball away to waste time. That was Halsey’s second booking and put Cincinnati down to 10 men.

“When they got the red card, I wanted just to have the two central backs again and then push Wilder in front of them so he could push Cesar,” Pareja said. “That way we can advance another forward or another midfielder — in this case Lodeiro — higher on the pitch. But it didn’t happen much. I thought that we were playing better before.”

Halliday broke in behind the defense on the right in the 82nd minute and fired a shot that deflected off a defender. That changed the flight path of the ball and Celentano made a good save to keep it out.

Substitute Luis Muriel won a free kick in the 85th minute and Lodeiro took the set piece, but he sent it right at Celentano as there was a bit too much whip on his cross. Celentano then made the save of the night in the 88th minute. Angulo blew past Alvas Powell on the left and chipped a cross into the middle. Lodeiro nodded it on frame and Celentano threw up a hand at the last second to keep it out.

Orlando City couldn’t fashion any danger in the seemingly short four minutes of stoppage time and the Lions fell for the second straight match.

FC Cincinnati finished with the advantage in possession (54.7%-45.3%) and passing accuracy (89.8%-81.1%), while Orlando City held the edge in shots (9-6) and corner kicks (5-3). Each team put three shots on target.

“I told the players what I saw on the pitch a was team with heart, with character,” Pareja said.

“I think what we can take out of this game is our mentality was good just to keep going with 10 men versus 11 most of the game, and just the fact that we kept pushing,” Halliday said. “That’s it, nothing more. It seemed like everything was going against us as a team. None of us want that first play to happen. It can’t happen. We did well to keep going after that but it’s frustrating that nothing more came of it.”

“The reality of the game overall is that we’re in a bad run right now, but there’s still plenty of games left that we have to fight for and continue pushing forward,” Gallese said. “But, you know, football is like life, and in life you’ve got tough moments, and you just have to face those moments and push forward and move ahead. And that’s what this team is going to have to do.”

The focus now turns to how quickly Orlando can get its two starting fullbacks healthy after both left the pitch with injuries tonight.

The Lions go on the road next Saturday as they visit the Philadelphia Union.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions look to bounce back from a tough loss to Toronto against league favorites FC Cincinnati.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Michael Citro

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (2-4-3, 9 points) and FC Cincinnati (5-2-3, 18 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). It’s the first of two scheduled meetings between the teams this season with the Lions scheduled to make the return trip to Ohio on Oct. 5.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

Orlando City leads the all-time series, 4-2-3, with a 2-1-1 mark at home. The teams last met on Sept. 2, 2023, with the Lions claiming a 1-0 win on enemy soil, becoming the first road team to beat FC Cincinnati all season. Facundo Torres scored the game’s only goal. Orlando had to hold on down a man late when Wilder Cartagena was sent off. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Orlando on March 4, 2023 in the most recent meeting in Central Florida.

The Lions fell 1-0 at TQL Stadium on June 24, 2022. A second-half goal from Brenner represented all the offense, but it could have been worse for Orlando City as Pedro Gallese made eight saves in the match. The first meeting of 2022 took place in Orlando on March 12, with FC Cincinnati notching its first win in the all-time series, 2-1 at Exploria Stadium. The Lions were more in control but were wasteful, despite dominating the stat sheet. The visitors got a brace from Brandon Vazquez to offset Junior Urso’s goal in the 42nd minute.

The final meeting of 2021 was on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati, when Orlando City got its first road victory in the series, 1-0 on Urso’s goal in the 13th minute. Tesho Akindele should have scored a second off the crossbar late in the game, but the play was never reviewed, despite video evidence that the ball was completely across the line.

On Aug. 7, 2021, the match in Cincinnati ended up in a 1-1 draw. Nani’s strike rescued a point after Brenner had opened the scoring for the hosts just before halftime, taking advantage of an obviously injured Uri Rosell, who subbed off moments later. The first of the three meetings in 2021 came on May 21 in Orlando, with the Lions posting a 3-0 win. Akindele scored in the first minute and Nani and Urso each added a goal.

In Orlando’s first trip to the banks of the Ohio River, the match ended in a 1-1 draw at Nippert Stadium on Sept. 29, 2019. Benji Michel’s goal in stoppage time rescued a point for the Lions after Allan Cruz had given the hosts a lead. The draw officially eliminated Orlando City from playoff contention that year, but realistically the Lions had been out of it for a while.

The first ever meeting between the two sides took place on May 19, 2019, when the Lions pummeled the expansion side, 5-1. Both Nani and Akindele bagged braces in the match and Dom Dwyer added a goal as well.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a 2-1 stunning late defeat at home to Toronto FC one week ago. Orlando City led much of the match on Duncan McGuire’s strike but couldn’t find a second and the visitors turned it around with two late headers from the 87th minute on. That was Orlando’s first loss since March 17. The Lions are just 1-2-2 at home this season.

Cincinnati is coming off a 2-1 home win over the Colorado Rapids and has won its last two matches, including its most recent away game at Atlanta, 2-1 on April 20. The Ohio side is 3-1-1 away from home on the season.

FC Cincinnati is basically good at everything but has not found as much success in the attack so far this season, although Luciano Acosta paces the club with four goals and five assists in 2024. Yuya Kubo has been pressed into service as a forward this season and has responded with three goals in 10 matches. Corey Baird has joined the team this season and although he hasn’t completely settled in yet, he’s got a goal and two assists.

The defense, however, which was already good last season, has been bolstered even more. The team has only conceded nine goals and that has largely to do with the arrivals of center back Miles Robinson and fullback DeAndre Yedlin. The two USMNT defenders join Matt Miazga and others in forming a sizable and nearly impenetrable wall in frong of goal. Scoring hasn’t been easy all season for Orlando City, but it may prove even more difficult tonight.

“Cincinnati has a model that is very concrete,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “We know it, we have played them last year. Coach hasn’t changed much; we don’t see many changes on their squad or the way they do (things). We’re conscious on what we need to do well. It’s always a good match against them. They have done a good job in the past year, and we have done it too, so we’ll see.”

The Lions will be without forward Ramiro Enrique (ankle) and Homegrown fullback Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh), while center back David Brekalo (thigh) is listed as questionable. FC Cincinnati will be without Aaron Boupendza (jaw) and may still be without defender Nick Hagglund (leg).

Match Content

Our Intelligence Report provides more info about FC Cincinnati from Justin Blair of Cincinnati Soccer Talk.
The most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast features our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match, as well as our match preview with Cincinnati Soccer Talk’s “Coach Gough.”
Our Dave Rohe outlined his three keys to an Orlando City victory against FC Cincinnati.