Columbus Crew frustrates Orlando City SC into 2-0 loss

Orlando City SC picked up an old habit in losing to Columbus Crew 2-0.

In some of their losses this season, Orlando City SC got frantic in the second half. They would jump and dive, in head coach Oscar Pareja’s terms, instead of intensifying their attack and calling on their drills.

Orlando relapsed into that second-half behavior against Columbus Crew, a team good enough to occupy fourth place in the MLS Eastern Conference.

Two events distracted Orlando from executing a second-half game plan that might have gotten them a point – if not a win. The first one came with shock and surprise.

That one was in the 42nd minute. SC thought they had a penalty kick coming after striker Luis Muriel drew a penalty from Crew defender Steven Moreira. But not so fast. Here comes the shock and surprise.

Out came an order for a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review of the play. With that complete, officials called a different penalty. This time, Orlando midfielder Aiden Morris got the penalty and the kick opportunity moved to the other side of the pitch.

Forward Diego Rossi placed the penalty and the first half ended 1-0.

Pareja had a plan to over the 1-0 deficit before teams returned to the pitch for the final 45 minutes.

He said he didn’t desire a change in their play, as both teams kept favoring versions of the back three featuring three defenders.  Even working from behind, he saw that his players had the match mostly in control. The team kept creating chances – five shots on goal for the game – but they didn’t result in balls in the net.

The second event lasted all second half-long, building gradually. Pareja saw it developing. Orlando players remained unsettled after the bizarre switch of the penalty kick coming near the 45th minute. In the second half, minute by minute, SC players grew increasingly frustrated working in what felt like limited space.

As Pareja put it, Columbus made it look like Orlando was conceding  too much space. With that increasing frustration, the team became disorganized. The players plunged into bad habits.

Then they gave up still another goal to Rossi in the 61st minute, assisted by winger Yaw Yeboah.

After that, Orlando City got off another eight shots, three on target. Forward Ramiro Enrique got in two of those on-target shots after coming into the match in the 60th minute.  But the result remained – no points for this match.

Supporters saw that Enrique looked formidable up front after his March ankle injury. And he showed he’s ready to follow Pareja’s plan for attack in all game situations.

That will be an increasingly necessary commitment for Orlando City SC squad members for the rest of this season.

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