Thank you to Orlando City Communications for all the pictures in this editorial.
By: Luis Carlos Pineda
The lions lost against Philadelphia at Exploria Stadium yesterday and left everyone thinking how come this Orlando side cannot seem to finish the attacking play. The chances were generated, but no one seemed to finish the job. Eventually, “Philly” got the win by taking advantage of the only chance they created throughout the game. As well, in the last 20 minutes of the game, Union players kept making the game unnecessarily choppy and furthermore the lions were not able to level the score.
In the first half, both teams came out eager to attack and score but in the end, Orlando started their possession game, while Philly stayed compact defensively and attempted the counter play when they were able to get the ball back. Orlando City failed to connect the many crosses of Ruan, as well the set piece opportunities generated throughout the first half. The biggest chance for the lions came in the 28th minute through the feet of Facundo Torres. Gallese sent a superb cross to Kara who passed the ball to Pereyra, who then passed it to Facundo Torres, and the Uruguayan international fired a shot towards the left post and it went completely wide. Orlando City should’ve scored that one. It could’ve been fantastic to be up a goal against a team that is in the top of the east and a major contender. Also, Orlando City to this point, deserved to be up a goal. They dominated the possession (60% – 40%) and created more chances than Philadelphia.
In the second half, Orlando City came out swinging from the get go. The lions generated three chances. One came from a set piece that Araujo shot wide, then it was Torres that also attempted to shoot unsuccessfully, and finally it was Benji Michel that attempted a weird scissor’s kick in Philly’s box. Then, the Union not only parked the bus, but also their players started faking injuries and making the game very choppy, it was time wasting galore for Philly. The referee ended up adding 9 minutes of stoppage time due to those incidents, insane. In the 91st minute, Torres after a wonderful assist from Araujo, shot a wonderful banger but it went completely wide. In the 93rd minute, off a corner, Gazdag pulled Antonio Carlos’ jersey so the Brazilian could not jump to clear the cross. The ref went to the monitor to check with VAR, and he determined that it was not a foul for Gazdag, therefore no penalty was awarded to the lions. Exploria went off, and Orlando’s bench was furious. The game ended with again the lions dominating possession and passing accuracy, but they only had one shot on target. Also, defender Robin Jansson became the first player in Orlando City history to reach 10,000 minutes played for the Club. Facundo Torres and César Araújo both made their 25th appearance for Orlando City.
Oscar Pareja in postgame presser said: “I am not going to blame that [VAR call], we will take the responsibility of the result. We have to be very clear to say that we had some chances, especially in the first half where we have to go up in the game. [Against] a team that defends well, you have to be polished. We couldn’t do it. After that it was a messy game for me. I don’t think it had a lot of continuity and [a lot of] stops in the game. Players would lay on the ground. That frustrated us more and we lost clarity to create more and the game became messy because we didn’t have any flow. The game would stop every three minutes. It was difficult. The second half was frustrating.”
As much as the decisions by the official were frustrating, Orlando could’ve easily put this game away in the first half. But, they did not. That particularly, is a huge recurring problem for the lions. Improvement on finishing the play needs to come fast. Because, the lions are on the verge on making history by playing against a very tough Red Bulls team in the U.S Open Cup semifinal. Without finishing the play, and the heavy press the Red Bulls performs on their opponents, it will be a tough team to beat. Orlando City has huge chance to finally lift from silverware, especially this fantastic group of players under Oscar Pareja’s guidance. It’s a chance for them to be part of the Club’s history.
See you all Wednesday, VAMOS ORLANDO!
