Orlando City suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday night, falling 2-1 at the Colorado Rapids after ceding a 90th-minute goal. Here are our three takeaways from the match.
1. Late-game goals continue to haunt Lions
It was the formula for numerous Orlando City losses and draws last year — a formidable opening hour of play erased by a lapse in the final third and a goal in the final 10 minutes of play.
Perhaps most frustrating for the Lions was the fact that coach Oscar Pareja’s game plan worked until the final minute of regulation. His team fielded a more defensive approach, but it still featured a strong attack that created chances in front of goal and forced Colorado goalkeeper Clint Irwin to make several show-stopping saves.
Even without Nani, who served the last game of his suspension, Orlando City was able to get on the board and level the score with a goal courtesy of Chris Mueller. As the Lions entered the final minutes of play, there was an air of hopefulness — sure, it wasn’t quite as sweet as a win, but a draw on the road would have been a success worth celebrating, particularly for a team still adjusting to its new coach.
The ceded goal, however, stirred up old resentment and frustration from the 2019 season. It came off a header from a set piece on a corner kick, the exact type of situation Pareja knew to prepare for after the Rapids scored in a similar style last week.
There were challenges on the play — for instance, centerback Rodrigo Schlegel was hobbled with cramps due to the altitude and forced to go to the sidelines twice in the final 20 minutes. But ultimately, the goal was the result of lack of focus during one of the most critical moments of the game.
From here, Mueller said the most important next step is for the Lions to learn from the mistake. Last season, he felt players didn’t take enough responsibility for points dropped late in games.
Pareja worked to instill this drive in his players, but after the game he focused on boosting their confidence. He moved around the locker room, telling his players to keep their heads up.
“I was very proud of the effort that we had,” Pareja said. “The execution of the plan for the game was really good. We have this frustration … but we’re going to have calm and we’re not going to look for any excuses.”
2. Wingback formation offers defensive versatility
Throughout the preseason, Pareja made clear he would shift his team’s formation based on the opponent. That became clear with Saturday’s lineup, which featured a hybrid between a 5-3-2 and a 3-5-2 formation. This allowed Pareja to field five defenders — Robin Jansson, Schlegel and Antonio Carlos in the middle with Kyle Smith and João Moutinho playing on the flanks as wingbacks.
A wingback role is different than a typical outside back, allowing the pair of outside backs to roam higher up the field. This formation encouraged Moutinho and Smith to factor into the attack and maintain the high press.
Both outside backs sent scorching shots on frame and created chances through crosses. However, they also offered a more reliable defensive presence when Colorado attempted to counter. This stability was Pareja’s goal, allowing the coach to create a defensively confident lineup without sacrificing his emphasis on attack.
It also gave a glimpse of how Pareja could include Moutinho and Smith in the future. This type of lineup could be particularly beneficial for Smith, who played striker and winger throughout his high school and collegiate career. He provided solid performances for the Lions last season, but the team was entrenched in a four-back formation that didn’t give outside backs the same flexibility.
“I love attacking,” Smith said with a grin after Saturday’s match. “Scoring goals, it’s the best part of the game.”
3. Lack of shots from strikers
Shooting across the roster improved for the Lions during Saturday’s match. After taking only nine shots in the team’s season opener, Orlando City took 14 shots against Colorado, placing five on frame.
But those shots weren’t coming from the starting striker unit.
Striker Benji Michel didn’t take a shot in either of the team’s matches so far this season. Tesho Akindele took his first shot of the season in stoppage time, firing a close range ball wide right of frame.
Defenders such as Moutinho, Jansson and Smith combined for more shots than the striker unit, and Andrés Perea fired three in his first full 90 with the Lions.
The striker who is shooting with the least hesitation is Mueller, who scored the equalizing goal in the 82nd minute Saturday. Mueller came in as a late-game substitution in Colorado, entering in the 79th minute and immediately firing two shots.
Similarly, Mueller was the only striker to shoot at all in the Real Salt Lake opener.
Although the Lions can now expect the return of Nani — and Dom Dwyer, once he has recovered from injury — goal-scoring was always been the Lions’ biggest question. For Pareja, however, the lack of shooting from the strikers isn’t a cause for alarm yet.
“It could be a bunch of reasons,” Pareja said. “I think they’ve done a great job and it’s providing us space up there. Those occasions will come. I’m pretty sure they will happen.”