Adrian Heath
Orlando 0 : 2 FC Dallas
Report by Chris Kimball
The talk entering their match with FC Dallas was how Orlando City would cope without their Brazilian captain. After 90 minutes of Kaka-less soccer on Saturday the answer was made abundantly clear. Dallas dominated play from start to finish, scored a pair of goals off poor Lions defense, and left 30,513 fans at the Citrus Bowl scratching their collective heads.
“We got what we deserved, which was nothing,” Orlando coach Adrian Heath said pointedly after the 2-0 loss. “It’s probably the easiest three points on the road that Dallas will get this season.”
Orlando City were playing without multiple starters. Kaka, of course, was absent due to a red card suspension. Also missing were Darwin Ceren and Kyle Larin (Gold Cup), and Brek Shea (injury). The situation was dire enough that Adrian Heath penciled just five players on to his bench to start the game.
Dallas opened the scoresheet in the 45th minute after Cristian Higuita tripped up Fabian Castillo in the box to draw a penalty kick which Mauro Diaz promptly pocketed in the back of the net to the delight of the away support.
In the 64th minute David Texeira found acres of open space inside the 6-yard box, slotting home an easy second goal for the Texas club. It was a defensive breakdown the type of which Orlando City has mostly avoided this season, and it suggested that their problems on this night were far greater than just an absent Kaka, or as Heath put it: “Ricky [Kaka] would have had to have been good to rejuvenate the rest of the group tonight.”
Orlando struggled to connect on offense all evening. Pedro Ribeiro was the lone bright spot. The Brazilian appeared to pull one goal back midway through the second half before being called offside. Replays suggested the striker may have had decent position.
Ribeiro got behind the defense again in the closing minutes of the match before being bulled over by a charging Dan Kennedy, drawing a penalty kick in Orlando’s favor. But Carlos Rivas sent the PK attempt soaring high into the upper levels of the end zone seats to put a massive exclamation point on the evening.
In the end Orlando City didn’t manage to put a single shot on target all night.
“It’s probably the most disappointed I’ve been all year,” Heath lamented. “We just looked lethargic and lacked enthusiasm and drive…and desire.”
To add injury to insult, Orlando City may have lost one of their starting centerbacks. Sean St. Ledger was stretchered off the field in the second half with an apparent shoulder dislocation. Also, starting leftback, Luke Boden, ruled himself out of next week’s match against the Red Bulls after drawing a pair of yellow cards. Without another true leftback on the roster Adrian Heath will be scrambling yet again to fill the gaps on the lineup sheet in seven days.
At least Kaka should be available.
