Orlando, FL – Orlando City SC (12-10-7, 43 points) defeated fellow Eastern Conference side Charlotte FC (10-11-8, 38 points) 2-0 to continue their push for seating in the playoffs. It’s Orlando’s third straight clean sheet at home, after defeating Nashville SC 3-0 and the New England Revolution 3-0 on Sunday.
Charlotte plays different. Instead of coming out with an immediate push as Nashville and New England did, The Crown draws back on defense and lets opponents come to them while limiting space for teams to maneuver, and then countering when chances appear.
“Yeah, you know, during the week we studied them.” Said Orlando forward Facundo Torres “We know they have a very particular way of marking, so during the week we really worked on trying to get around them, trying to find those spaces. And, you know, when those opportunities came, obviously when they were closing down on us, I knew that I had to find ways to get in behind them and to find the space in areas they weren’t, and thankfully we were able to do that and that first goal just really created the rest of the game for us.”
The Orlando win slots them in fourth place on the MLS East table with five matches remaining in the season.
Orlando lead in possession with 58%, which is typical against this Charlotte Defense. 17 minutes into the contest, Orlando held the ball 76% of the time.
Orlando Dominated in shots (12-4 vs Charlotte), but only had four shots on target.. The Crown blocked six shots. The Lions shot 27 shots from inside the Charlotte box.
Both sides went into the locker room at halftime knotted up at 0-0, with Orlando working on getting space inside of the Charlotte grid, and Charlotte holding fast in their set.
Orlando Substituted Duncan McGwire into the match to start the second half, and things started to change.
In the 52nd minute, Orlando roared down the left flank, and Iván Angulo slipped a pass to Martín Ojeda outside the box. Ojeda lofted a cross past the Charlotte defense to a wide-open Torres, who powered the ball into the back of the net.
At the end of regular time, McGuire iced the game. Luis Muriel received a pass at midfield from goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, then turned and cut a pass through the heart of the backline. With nobody to beat but the keeper, McGuire chipped the ball over Charlotte’s netminder to double Orlando’s advantage.
With that 89th minute score, Charlotte pushed the gas on their press, but had little effect, creating only two shots on target, with Orlando Keeper Pedro Gallese not needing to block them.
“We played against a very difficult rival in Charlotte FC, who played very organized.” Said Orlando Head Coach Oscar Pareja. “It is difficult to break the lines, and they are one of the teams in Major League Soccer that probably are just condensed very well in the box. It’s difficult to create sequences that affect those spaces. That’s why the value of the game today and the points and scoring two goals against them just makes us feel good. Congratulations to our players as well for such an important and great game.”
Orlando has a short turnaround as they travel to Columbus, Ohio to face the Columbus Crew on Saturday at Lower.con field.
