Orlando City has had a weird two-game season so far. Both games were draws with one game feeling like a win and the other feeling most definitely like a loss.
Getting a point after being down two goals entering the 90th minutes is still a euphoric sort of comeback, a product of both skill and luck. Getting a point after being up a man for nearly an hour is defeating.
Both of Orlando City’s first two games though saw many of the same frustrations and problems — a team with all the possession and all the advantages and none of the goals — three total through two games.
And aside from the team’s struggles with set pieces and corner kicks, the Lions are simply struggling to cash in on critical opportunities. They have outshot their opponents 27-18 with a 12-6 advantage on shots on target.
The opportunities are all there for Orlando City. But despite those opportunities, there seems to be more opportunities that get passed up.
Watching the Lions, it is clear there is a bit of an over passing problem. It is something the team struggled with last year too. The team scores effectively in counter attacks and while the team is on the run, but settling down and breaking down a set defense has been a problem. Orlando City never seems able to open them up and when the shooting lane comes, the team does not always take it.
Coach Adrian Heath acknowledges that this is a problem. Saying something that might otherwise be surprising to Alicia Del Gallo of the Orlando Sentinel:
“I think we had the extra pass about three to four times, where we could run shots at goal,” Heath said after training Monday. “One or two need to be a bit more selfish in and around the box, and, ya know, we need to take the opportunities when they arise. Certainly three or four times I felt we could have pulled the trigger and we didn’t.”
That is an interesting concept for sure.
Orlando City has gotten solid play up front from Cyle Larin. Larin is never afraid to put a shot on net — or one in the back. But even he has not pulled the trigger on a few shots he could have taken. At a certain point, the team needs to put a shot on frame just for the potential of a rebound opportunity.
The Lions’ offense largely relies on getting the ball wide and crossing it into the box. The team has struggled effectively delivering those crosses and so offensive opportunities have dried up.
Certainly some better imagination finding holes within a defense is still something the team needs to work on.
Playing without Kaka early on in the season has certainly affected things too. Kaka is Orlando’s best playmaker and someone who can free up players with beautiful through balls and one-on-one play. He is willing to take defenders on and force some offense.
That is another thing the Lions have needed too. Someone perhaps to win a one-on-one battle and open the defense up, stretching them thin before delivering the next pass and the shot or creating their own lane to get a shot.
A little bit of selfishness — or the right amount — certainly would help Orlando City’s offense take a step forward.
