Orlando City put together a strong half against Atlanta United at home last Friday, going into the break tied 1-1. The only goal they gave up was a free kick that Joe Bendik bobbled, and if not for missing three of their top midfielders — a situation which was felt most severely in attacking transitions — Orlando may have been able to grab a lead over the likely Supporters’ Shield winners.
The good news for the Purple Lions is that Yoshi Yotun and Cristian Higuita return from suspension this weekend, and new midfield signing Carlos Ascues, who was strong before tiring, has had a full seven days to build up fitness. As of this writing, Sacha Kljestan remains in injury purgatory, both sort of hurt and also not listed on the official injury report.
Key players
To break their long run of poor form — OCSC is 1-1-14 since a six match winning streak that ended in early May — head coach James O’Connor has tinkered with his lineup, looking for the right combination to finally create enough defensive nous to allow the team’s considerable attacking talent to thrive. Shane O’Neill has arrived to bolster the back line, and Jonathan Spector’s much-anticipated return from injury finally provides a clear starting pairing.
Dom Dwyer and Kljestan are the most important pieces up front, and both can produce good chances out of nothing.
In midfield, things get interesting. Ascues, Yotun, Higuita, Will Johnson, and Oriol Rosell all technically play in the same area of the pitch, though they interpret their roles a bit differently. Rosell is more of a back line protector, while Higuita and Johnson are all-action and look for a tackle wherever they can find it. Yotun is mobile and the best distributor of the group. In Ascues first start, he used his size well and was able to progress the ball on the dribble against Atlanta, however it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his positioning against the Union, who do a good job of drawing out opposing midfielders to provide space for Borek Dockal.
What to watch for
With big names returning, the most interesting question on Saturday will be how Orlando City’s midfield sets up. It will likely be in a triangle, but who goes where remains an open question. Yotun is probably has the most all-around talent and is the most effective passer when counterpressed, but for a team that has allowed three or more goals four times during its current six match winless streak, defensive stability may be preferred. In that case, Higuita and Ascues could be a mobile combination, though both can get attracted to the ball and leave the center free.
Another option is to leave Rosell deep with Ascues and Yotun in front of him in an inverted triangle. This would leave the team without a number 10, though they could ask Dwyer to drop in a la Rooney at DC United, with the wing players making angled runs into the space the striker leaves behind.
For Union fans, a big area to focus on is Orlando City’s back four. Against Atlanta, the center backs both stayed extremely tight to Josef Martinez in the center, allowing gaping holes to open between the CBs and the fullbacks. To prevent the Five Stripes from exploiting those spaces, the fullbacks had to get out to the wingers extremely fast, and the mids had to track Miguel Almiron’s forward runs tightly.
The Union can try to roll Cory Burke into those channels, but they may have more success looking for Bedoya’s late runs or Dockal pulling out of the center when the midfielders move toward the ball.
The Union should also have opportunities to trap Orlando along the flanks. None of the Purple Lions’ midfielders are particularly comfortable opening their body when receiving the ball in tight spaces, so if Philly can keep equal numbers around the ball, they can often force Orlando to play long. Dwyer is smart about sweeping across the formation to collect those longer balls, so the Union center backs will need to monitor for those moments when the midfield is closed down and be prepared to gather a loose ball.
This is, of course, a very winnable game for the Union. However, they will be on short rest and Orlando has had over a week to recover, prep, and integrate new and returning faces. If ever James O’Connor had a chance to add a new wrinkle or two to his setup, this would be it. Look for more organized pressing from City once the Union approach the center circle. In particular the advanced midfielder tends to start the press and then it’s a matter of everyone else responding quickly so the Union can’t switch fields and get out of danger.
Final notes
- This will be the Union’s third match in eight days, and Orlando’s first in seven days
- Jack Elliott is one yellow card away from a suspension after picking up an early caution against DC United
- Fafa Picault is one goal away from matching last season’s goals+assists numbers. Last year he had 7 goals and 3 assists in 1800+ minutes; this year he’s at 6 and 3 in just over 1500
- Borek Dockal’s assist on Fafa Picault’s second half goal moves him into a tie for second place in helpers in MLS, one behind Kaku’s 14. Dockal is two away from tying Cristian Maidana’s single season Union assist record
- Andre Blake currently has the top defensive rating in the Audi Player Index, which remains an impenetrable statistic
The Union and Orlando City face off at 7:30PM EST on Saturday, September 1.
