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Second-year Orlando City midfielder Will Johnson knows a hot start to the season doesn’t mean much.
The Lions went 7-5-5 through the first half of the 2017 season – which included six wins in their first seven matches – before going 3-10-4 during their final 17 games.
The brutal second half of the season led to a dip in attendance, which Johnson said was noticed by the club.
“You want to have a packed house every night,” Johnson said after Tuesday’s training session. “But you’ve got to earn that. You’ve got to deserve that. You’ve got to put a product on the field that earns the right so that the fans spend their hard-earned money to come watch you play. We didn’t do that.
“Obviously, it definitely affects the group when there’s less people in the crowd, there’s no denying it, but that’s on us.”
The 2018 campaign represents an opportunity to make things right, Johnson said.
“We’ve got to perform,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to win. We’ve got to play well enough where people want to watch us no matter what the result is.
“I think, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we didn’t always leave it out there, the 11 guys, the 14 guys who were on the field, for whatever reason that was going on that week. It just didn’t happen, so the fans stopped coming and that’s normal.”
Coach Jason Kreis said he’s excited about the team, adding this year’s group is “willing to give everything it takes.”
“I believe this is a group that is willing and able — and capable — to bring a higher level of effort and commitment to very single minute of every single match and that’s what will be expected,” he said.
Veteran center back Jonathan Spector said the team is excited to get back in front of its supporters.
“It’s been a long offseason,” he said. “Longer than what I’m used to. But it’s been great to have the time off. It just gets you more excited and more ready and prepared to get in front of those fans again. We’ve got some of the best fans in the league so we’re excited to get back in front of them and have them support us and cheer us on.”
The preseason is winding down, with Orlando City’s first match of the season coming up at 7:30 p.m. on March 3 against D.C. United. The team has its final training scrimmage on Saturday against the Chicago Fire. The scrimmage will be played in Orlando City Stadium, though it’ll be closed to the public – just like the Lions’ other scrimmages this preseason.
Official scores haven’t been kept during Orlando City’s preseason training scrimmages, but the group – particularly rookie striker Chris Mueller – has racked up goals.
“It’s been good,” Johnson said. “We’re working on a few different formations. We’re learning how to get guys involved. It’s been a bit of a challenge – obviously not having [midfielder] Sacha [Klejestan] for those first two games, so we’ve got him some minutes with both groups, that’s been a challenge. Guys have been coming in and out.
“Just in general, the more you play together when there’s this many new faces, I think it’s better. I think we’re where we need to be right now.”