Orlando City SC endured an opening night shocker, falling to the Philadelphia Union 4-2.
The Philadelphia Union stunned Orlando City SC players, coaches, and supporters as they left the pitch on opening night with a 4-2 win.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja observed that his team suffered from mistakes that they should be able to avoid. When the Lions had options, they let them go but the Union players didn’t. They let their opportunities go.
By this he meant when they started something, the Orlando City players didn’t finish.
While they went to their locker rooms at halftime 1-1, the problems were evident even then. The sequence was the same for each possession.
There would be a good long ball, but not accurate. A City player would keep possession and complete a pass. There might be a second pass. But the third would be errant.
Pareja observed glimpses of encouraging plays, but the players needed one or two gears to reach full speed.
Late in the first half, striker Ramiro Enrique executed one of these plays. On a clearance attempt by the Union, Enrique caught it for a headed pass. He caught it a second time for another headed pass. This time, the Union regained possession.
Scores by the Union’s Tai Baribo, Daniel Gazdag, and Mikkel Uhre, and a second by Baribo sealed the Lions’ fate. Assists were by Quinn Sullivan, Kai Wagner, and Francis Westfield.
A glimmer of hope for the 2025 season happened just 28 minutes after kickoff. That’s when two newcomers let everyone know they intended to earn their paychecks.
Forward Marco Pasalic put two balls in the net, accounting for the Lions’ score. He was assisted on the first by winger Martin Ojeda and fellow newcomer Eduard Atuesta.
Short-term prospects Gustavo Caraballo and Colin Guske were in the lineup as substitutes. But they had no chance for minutes in a match like this.
Expect intense drills between now and the next match. Intense can’t be emphasized enough.