by Chris Kimball
Orlando City scored two goals at home for the first time this year and the Lions pulled back from the brink of another home defeat to draw the New England Revolution 2-2 in front of 27,243 fans at the Orlando Citrus Bowl.
It took less than 20 minutes for New England to demonstrate which side was the defending Eastern Conference champions and which one was the expansion side. On the heels of an apprehensive opening 20 minutes by the home team, Amobi Okugo turned the ball over cheaply in Orlando’s defensive half to send New England’s Charlie Davies through to goal with little resistance. Davies slotted the ball nonchalantly into the right corner for his fourth goal in as many games, and it all looked too easy for the reigning Eastern champions.
The book on Orlando City this season has been to prevent them from playing the ball through the central midfield, especially at the feet of Kaka. True to form, New England deployed an effective high press in the first half, forcing the Lions to send long roaming balls from deep within their own defensive half. The result was a disjointed first period in which the Lions mustered just four shots on goal, none of which were on target.
After a halftime pep talk from Heath (“I just thought we had to push more men forward and give them something to defend.”) the Lions finally found their stride. Eight second half shots on goal and 66% ball possession put Orlando City squarely on the front foot and the tying goal seemed close at hand.
Which is why the egregious 71st minute mistake by Rafael Ramos which gifted a second goal to the visitors felt like a death knell. City’s young defender attempted to chest a pass back to his goalkeeper but misjudged the distance and instead sent the ball to the Revolution’s Kelyn Rowe who scored on an empty net.
It looked like the familiar scenario: the Lions offense showed great promise but few goals. The defense performed admirably except for a few costly mistakes. But the boys in purple had other ideas on this night.
“Mentally [our players]weren’t prepared to lie down.” Heath said later. “They wanted to take something from the game. We make a mistake while we’re so much on top of the game, that could have killed [us]off, but it didn’t. They didn’t want to lose the game tonight.”
Ramos immediately made amends for his error. Bolting down the right flank from his fullback position, the Portugal international sent a probing diagonal ball into the opposing box. Kyle Larin muscled past a defender and placed a firm header into the back of the net.
The goal was just the second for the Lions at home this season and their first from open play, but it buoyed the home team. Then, in the 90th minute, Luke Boden sent a dangerous cross into the goal box —one of many on the night for the English fullback. Aurelien Collin leapt, lined up the header, and sent home the equalizer. The confetti rained down.
The Lions had successfully fought their way back against the kings of the East to take a well-deserved and badly needed point at home. It wasn’t a win, but for Heath it was an important result. “I thought the response from the players was absolutely magnificent,” he said. “I think we’ll gain a lot of confidence from this result.”
New England Revolution
Orlando City
