There was frustration as Orlando City left the pitch Wednesday at Camping World Stadium. That was only a U.S. Open Cup game though. Most of Orlando City’s starters got the night off. And the Lions could still turn their focus completely to the MLS season and the very difficult challenge at FC Dallas.
Frustration though remained on Independence Day in Texas.
A whole lot of frustration and perhaps the worst performance Orlando City has had all year and, save for a beating in Columbus last year amid an early red card to Rafael Ramos.
There was none of that in this contest. This was a simple beatdown in every facet.
FC Dallas scored early and often, defeating Orlando City 4-0 in dominating fashion. A game many players after the game called an embarrassment.
It is hard to argue with that assessment.
Orlando City had few opportunities moving forward. Brek Shea got some speed but had too heavy a touch too often and turned the ball over too quickly. Orlando City had possession for just 43.4 percent of the game. The Lions managed just three shots. FC Dallas had 19.
And the scoring started early.
A pass sent back toward goal from the defense was failed to be collected and cleared, going out for a corner kick. Walker Zimmerman broke free from Shea to score on the corner kick on a header. That made it 1-0.
FC Dallas doubled its score 10 minutes later. Matt Hedges and Fabian Castillo added second half goals as Orlando City was seemingly powerless to stop things.
The Lions certainly could not turn the tide. There was zero momentum. Joe Bendik was not perfect, but made saves to keep the deficit at four. There was no fighting back without possession of the ball.
Orlando City was put on its heels and given no chance to recover at all. It gave itself no chance to recover at all. Not from the opening kick of this holiday game.
Kaka hardly made a difference and was taken out of the game at half time. The Lions will almost certainly need him even against the Houston Dynamo on Friday at Camping World Stadium. There will be a quick turnaround from this game at least.
This has been a season full of struggles and disappointments. Adrian Winter has asked for his release from the club. The team has been uneven and given up plenty of opportunities for wins and to bank points for subpar performances like these. Things have snowballed and questions have risen about this team, even as they stay in the Playoff race in the Eastern Conference.
The quick turnaround is all the team can ask for as redemption after a game when FC Dallas was doing whatever it wanted and dominated the entire game.
