Close is not enough for Orlando City in Whitecaps heartbreaker

Close is not enough for Orlando City in Whitecaps heartbreaker

by Chris Kimball, Orlando

Incensed by his team’s last-minute loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps, Orlando City’s head coach Adrian Heath did not mince words: “When you make stupid mistakes at important times they’re going to cost you. When you make school boy errors that’s what happens.”

The “error” drawing the bulk of Heath’s ire was a soft foul relinquished in the final minute of stoppage time by Darwin Ceren with the home squad hanging on to a hard fought 0-0 tie.

As the seconds ticked away, Vancouver’s Pedro Morales whipped free kick into the box which Octavio Rivero tracked and brilliantly redirected with his head past a helpless Donavan Ricketts to hand the visitors an unlikely victory.

One gets the sense Heath felt more defeated by his own squad than by the opposition. It’s true Orlando City had ample opportunities to put a ball in the net. The Lions sent 12 shots flying towards goal but forced Vancouver’s goalkeeper into just one save on the evening. It was a case of Heath’s team not being quite sharp enough in the final third.

“I think we had too many ‘nearlies’ all night,” Heath lamented after the game. “It was nearly good play. It was nearly a good ball. It was nearly a good cross. It was nearly a good set up. Unfortunately at this level ‘nearly’ is not going to cut it.”

The difficult result spoiled some otherwise promising performances by several Orlando City players, notably on defense. Aurielien Collin, freshly back from a red card suspension, held down the fort admirably in center defense. Rafael Ramos once again proved his considerable mettle, shadowing the talented Kekuta Menneh for 90 minutes to good affect. And Cyle Larin, who made his MLS debut late in the second half, displayed promise on the end of a pair of positive link up plays with Kaka.

To their credit, Vancouver showed why many consider them to be a much improved team over last season’s fifth place squad. Rivero’s game-winning header was his third goal in three matches. He could have had at least two other scores. In the 34th minute the Uruguayan striker had a clear run on goal with acres of empty real estate to work with. His shot brushed the leg of a sprawled out Donovan Ricketts and dribbled inches outside the goal post. Moments later he had another clear look from just a few yards out but sent his try pinging off the cross bar. How ironic that the goal which eventually sealed the match for Vancouver was by far Rivero’s most difficult attempt.

Orlando’s goal scoring tandem of Kaka and Kevin Molino struggled to find the final ball. Twice Molino stole into the box with the ball at his feet and a potential shot opportunity at hand. Both times he seemed to run out of ideas, dribbling into a mass of white-shirted defenders. It was as though the need to make one more clever pass superseded the need to actually score.

“We decided on numerous occasions tonight to over-complicate the game,” Heath said later. He wasn’t wrong…Not “nearly.”

Orlando City SC
1.Donovan Ricketts; 27.Rafael Ramos, 78.Aurelien Collin, 3.Seb Hines, 20.Brek Shea; 5.Amobi Okugo, 17.Darwin Ceren; 18.Kevin Molino, 10.Kaká, 12.Eric Avila; 15.Pedro Ribeiro (21.Cyle Larin 72′)

Substitutes not used
36.Earl Edwards, 4.Sean St Ledger, 6.Tony Cascio, 14.Luke Boden, 23.Conor Donovan, 35.Bryan Rochez

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.David Ousted; 33.Steven Beitashour, 4.Kendall Waston, 18.Diego Rodríguez, 3.Sam Adekugbe (2.Jordan Harvey 75′); 15.Matías Laba, 28.Gershon Koffie; 9.Nicolás Mezquida (38.Kianz Froese 67′), 77.Pedro Morales, 23.Kekuta Manneh (19.Erik Hurtado 67′); 29.Octavio Rivero

Substitutes not used
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 11.Darren Mattocks, 26.Tim Parker, 31.Russell Teibert