Orlando City SC beat Chicago Fire and two major obstacles

Supporters left this match asking, Where have you been Orlando City SC? And that’s good.

While Chicago Fire FC is not a strong opponent this year, their scouts are as adept as any in MLS. By their pre-game analysis, Chicago made sure Orlando City SC faced every barrier that had hexed them earlier this season.

First, Chicago’s go-to formation was a version of the back three (three defenders). This match is only the third time this season they used it, resulting in one win and two losses. They went to this formation in their previous match, beating Toronto FC 4-1. So it made sense in this game.

This scheme bedeviled Orlando until the squad drilled on it and found they had the personnel to make it work. But international duty took away some key squad members. So for this match, the players emphasized soccer basics and worked mainly in the 4-4-2.

But opponent formation choice isn’t the only problem for Orlando. A troubling situation developed over several matches. Whenever City threatened to score an equalizer, opponents would pour on the speed, throwing Orlando players into disarray.

Orlando City took the pitch ready to face all these obstacles. They locked the game for a win in the first half with goals by midfielder Facundo Torres – assisted by defender Dagur Thorhallsson – striker Luis Muriel (penalty kick) and midfielder Ivan Angulo. These all happened within the first 29 minutes.

Chicago didn’t start pressing for the goal until almost halftime. Midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie made it 4-1 on a penalty kick in the 53rd minute.

The Lions matched the Fire’s second-half speed. In the 60th minute Thorhallsson dribbled from the right wing and laid the ball off for another Torres score – a high line drive to the top left corner of the net. Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady saw everything.

Brady launched in the right direction to divert the ball to the end line. But he went airborne just a second too early and a foot too low to prevent another nail from shutting down the fire.

This is Torres's fifth goal of this MLS season and his 100th appearance across all competitions. It’s his 35th all-time for Orlando and 28th in regular-season matches, tying him with Nani.

To Chicago’s credit, they didn’t quit but maintained their show of endurance, speed and focus. Forward Hugo Cuypers made it 4-2 after Orlando defender Robin Jansson missed clearance of a cross.

Keeper Mason Stajduhar made his 10th and final save of the match five minutes into final stoppage time, a header from Fire defender Carlos Teran.

Chicago Fire has some good players, but this is not a strong team overall. Yet the advancement Orlando City SC demonstrated against their two main obstacles, even with key players out on international duty, means a lot.

They have to keep drilling for consistency and focus. They’ll meet these obstacles from stronger teams very soon.