Loud & Proud Orlando

Orlando City played their final preseason scrimmage Valentine’s Day evening, in front of the club’s faithful supporters, the season ticket members. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of love felt throughout the stadium as the Lions fell 4-1 to the Colorado Rapids. Orlando City rolled out the lineup below against the Rapids:

This is pretty close to Orlando City’s starting lineup minus Martin Ojeda, who was dropped due to an illness he was suffering from on the evening. Eduard Atuesta replaced him at the “10” spot while Braian Ojeda replaced Atuesta in the double pivot. Ivan Angulo got the start at right back, a spot we’ve been projecting him to start at all preseason and finally saw it happen.

First Half Highlights

Here are a few highlights from the first half for both squads and some observations to go with them:

• Orlando City started quickly and pressed almost from the jump. Tiago and Atuesta were the front line of the press, with Pašalić and Spicer being the second line of the press. They smothered Colorado pretty well until they broke out.
• Colorado got on the board first, with a nice back-and-forth on the left wing. Angulo lost his man and while Cartagena came over to cover, he was too late to switch onto the correct man who crossed it over and Colorado’s striker scored.
• Orlando responded well, with Spicer bombing down the left side a few times putting up some nice chances. He had two balls put across the box in the 23rd and 32nd minute but there was nobody on the other end.
• Orlando also had a free kick about 30 yards out. The ball was deflected out for a corner. On the corner, the Lions got a head on it but it looped over the bar and the chance was gone.
• Colorado fought back again, with #77 on the Rapids bombing past Angulo and putting it in to their striker who out-jumped Iago on the back post and put it in putting the Rapids up 2-0.
• Angulo had an opportunity to counter back, as he beat half the Rapids squad but he overcooked the cross past the box.

In the first half, Spicer looked the brightest of the attackers. He was able to create space the entire half, was able to get past defenders, and had some decent service. He crossed the ball a bit too often for my liking, especially with nobody on the end of it. He should have been more direct in moments instead of looking for the pass.

Tiago looked lively at striker, getting in behind often and causing issues for the opponent with his pressing. He wasn’t given a lot of service and found it difficult to get on the end of really anything but he showed promise as well as why he started the game for Orlando.

Atuesta had a solid half as well. For someone who was added in the “10” spot late, he did well with his opportunity and made the best of it. He was connecting play well and really tried to get on the ball, though it didn’t happen all too often for him. He played physically in the middle of the park and really tried to put his stamp on the game.

Angulo at right back was not the answer for Orlando tonight and it showed. Though Angulo is quick, he was often out of position, getting beaten to balls he should have never had go past him. He rarely closed out when he should and both of Colorado’s first half goals are partially his fault. His positioning has to get better if he expects to play right back. I saw Oscar’s comments to the press tonight where he said “(Angulo’s) a winger and we’re trying to fill a spot. We have (Zakaria) Taifi who had some difficulties in the week…so we were trying to come up with some solutions.” – you can see the rest of the full comments in The Mane Land’s article here. Folks, don’t believe the coach-speak here. Angulo has been practicing at right back since Alex Freeman had been sold, according to multiple sources. This wasn’t a “fill a spot” moment, this was a deliberate plan that didn’t work. It was unfortunate that Taifi didn’t see time tonight but we understand that he picked up a knock this past week but is fully expected to be back in training this week. At least there’s some solace in the idea that Taifi could help us out in the right back spot (something I’ve been clambering for all offseason). The best solution is to hope Taifi can get healthy and the team can go out and get a right back before the window closes.

Second Half Highlights

Here are a few highlights from the second half for both squads and some additional observations:

• Orlando came out swinging to start the second half and had some nice chances in the 53rd minute and then the 61st minute. In the 61st minute, Atuesta put in a gorgeous bending free kick into the corner beating the keeper and putting the Lions within one goal. It was a well-earned free kick to set that up.
• Before the free kick, Orlando subbed Duncan McGuire on for Tiago to see if Duncan’s play could help the team. To me, the sub should have been at the half to let Duncan grow into the game a bit faster but at least he was on.
• Right after Orlando scored their goal, Colorado came marching down the field and grabbed one back off a slaloming run by Colorado who dinked it over Crepeau. The defense looked asleep after Orlando’s goal and it showed.
• Duncan then had back-to-back chances through the left channel for Orlando, with one being a gorgeous through ball from Marin. Unfortunately, both shots were saved by Steffen and Orlando was stifled still from open play.
• Colorado would get two free kicks minutes apart, both being blocked by Crepeau and the wall. However, after the second free kick, Colorado earned a corner and they smashed it in via a header putting them up 4-1 over Orlando. Their center back just had more size than the rest of the squad.
• After the 4th goal for Colorado, Orlando subbed on Ellis, Miller, and Guske to add a new look to the team with Caraballo coming on a bit later. With so little time, none of those players were really able to make a large impact.

Duncan McGuire looked impactful when he came on and he had two or three nice shots on target for Orlando. It would have been better if one had gone in but that has been Duncan’s luck this preseason. Hopefully with his lively play, he’ll get a look to start opening weekend.

Nolan Miller looked solid for the few minutes he was on the pitch. He played right back for Angulo and didn’t let anything get past him. He knew when to tuck in and where to be with his positioning so that was nice to see. He very much seems like a capable off-the-bench defender.

Tsukada and Caraballo had some nice minutes at the end of the game but neither was on the pitch long enough to make a large impact. It was really just nice to see them on the pitch.

Overall Conclusions: This Team Needs Defensive Help Now, While finding the End Product

Defensively, this team was a mess and there’s no sugar coating it. The communication was poor from the beginning whistle until the end of the game. Marin was probably the most solid next to Brekalo but it really wasn’t a high bar to clear. Iago had nice flashes but you could tell that he’s still building up chemistry with his defensive mates. Angulo looked out of his depth the entire time he was on. He was out of position often, he was slow to track back at times, he didn’t close out often, all things you would expect from your right back. The only net positive he had was when he broke on the counter but his speed does most of that work and he still didn’t have the end product. If I’m this coaching staff, I spend the entire week working on team defense and working with the defensive unit on their communication. They HAVE to figure that part out if they plan to have any success on opening day. Brekalo needs to lead the line, just like Jansson would, and make sure these guys are ready for the challenge. Seeing as this team is most likely not bringing in a right back in the next 7 days, Angulo seems to be the guy who will line up on the right side on opening day and that should scare people, if his performance tonight is the standard. If I’m the staff, I work on his positioning all week and ensure he closes out on every ball that comes his way. He has the recovery speed if he gets beat, so he shouldn’t need to give much space to catch back up.

Crepeau wasn’t overly impressive either. He looked too eager at times and when he came out, didn’t seem fully committed to doing so. I don’t mind aggressive keeper play as long as you can get to the ball and affect the game in a positive way. I’m not ready to say Otero needs the shot but it looked like a rusty keeper between the sticks and that doesn’t bode well for this team. Cartagena and B. Ojeda were good but not great. Based on the stories we heard about Wilder this offseason I expected to see a man with his hair on fire. Instead we saw a guy willing to get stuck in at times but other times misreading the game a bit. Colorado’s speed affected both midfielders and got them turned around at times so the team needs to buckle down to address these concerns going into the week.

On the offensive side, there was some solid build-up play and chances, especially down the left flank but the end product was lacking again. This team needs to get its attackers to make a choice: shoot or pass, and stick with it. There was still some timidness on the front line that definitely played into the missed opportunities. Sure, it was different without Tincho tonight but it can’t all be reliant on Tincho to make things happen. I think the offense is a bit more polished and ready to go as long as Tincho returns and the rest of the forward line is more deliberate with their play.

At the end of the day it’s a preseason game. The score doesn’t matter. Whether it’s a win or a loss, doesn’t matter. What does matter is how this team looked tonight and that wasn’t great. Thankfully, they have a week to clean it up and get ready for a fight with Red Bulls next weekend. Let’s hope it’s enough time to get ready or else it could be a long season for the Lions.