A Strong Second Half Propels the Lions to A 3-1 Win Over New England
Earning three points on the road is difficult, especially for Orlando City when playing at New England. With little success in years past at the massive Gillette Stadium, the Lions first forty-five minutes last night seemed par for the course at that venue. What must have been an interesting halftime in the Orlando locker room, and a change to the left side of the defense, turned the tide for the Lions as they dominated the Revolution in the second half.
The Lion's timing with this match worked out well as New England, coming off a 2-0 road loss to the Seattle Sounders last Saturday, were missing Carlos Gil, Tomas Chancalay, Dylan Borrero, Nacho Gil, Nick Lima, Peyton Miller, Emmanuel Boateng, and Noel Buck. Obviously, a depleted New England squad but Orlando also played without Duncan McGuire, who is off to Paris as part of the U.S. Olympic team.
The halftime change to Rafael Santos on the left side of defense provided Orlando City with more of a dynamic attack going forward. Santos, sometimes suspect with his defensive assignments, especially man-marking, loves to get forward and is excellent with his left-footed service. Santos' runs created constant numerical advantages for the Lions - a big difference from the first half.
Many thanks to Uruguay's manager, Marcelo Bielsa. His exclusion of Facundo Torres into the Uruguayan player pool for Copa America obviously has resulted in Torres showing Bielsa and the rest of the world that he is a player to watch for the next couple of transfer windows. Torres recorded his second brace of the regular season, and now has scored his 10th and 11th goals of the year across all competitions. Torres worked hard in last night's match and his second half goals paid off for the Lions, who have tallied eighteen goals in the last six matches.
The Orlando defense again was a force, allowing New England's lone goal in the twenty-third minute. It seems that Rodrigo Schlegel, who has always been a tireless ball-winning defender, has matured and come into his own with marking, ball distribution, and most importantly, his emotions. His play will need to continue as Orlando City's schedule sees more difficult competition in the coming weeks.
Orlando City now sits at 8-9-6 in the Eastern Conference, good for 30 points and five points from red-hot, 6th place Charlotte. The Lions stay on the road this week, heading to Nashville for a Wednesday night matchup, and then return home Saturday night against 5th place NYFC. Olympian Duncan McGuire will be missed so Facundo Torres and Luis Muriel will need to step up and provide the Lions with attacking options.
Gary Levitt @gary1123 justmytake.net
photo credit: Orlando City Soccer Club
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