A win wasn’t likely for Orlando City SC in their match with the New York Red Bulls. And a draw didn’t slip through their fingers, rather, over them.
Instead of the draw slipping through the Lions' fingers, it diverted right off goalkeeper Pedro Gallese’s fingertips into the net. Orlando City SC lost 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls.
The Orlando keeper is often very successful with fingertip saves. This is when he diverts the ball trajectory somewhere other than the back of the net. Even if this results in a corner kick, that's better than giving up a score.
Shortly before the 38th-minute free kick by New York defender John Tolkin, Gallese motioned the Orlando wall to get in place. Then he positioned himself.
No finesse-type long log, Tolkin kicked a hot line drive just over the wall. As if wire-guided, the ball began moving below the top of the right side of the net.
That’s when Gallese moved toward the ball and shot his fingertips up to divert it. But this time the keeper’s geometry calculation was no match for the force and speed of the shot. It diverted, to be sure. But it entered the net and popped to the top of it.
So Tolkin scored his first goal of this MLS season. He handled the set-piece for Red Bulls midfielder Lewis Morgan, fouled by City defender Wilmer Cartagena.
As Orlando is still building momentum for the season, it’s doubtful a win was ever within the realm of possibility. New York is in fourth place in the MLS Eastern Conference. This is a very good team.
Increasing the challenge, City has some key players recovering from injuries. They play, but not at 100%. And a key defender, Robin Jansson, was suspended for accumulation of yellow cards.
All the Red Bulls had to do for the second half was shut down Orlando’s attacks. They went for a basic 4-4-2 formation.
To prevent any further damage, City shifted to a four-defender scheme. But with the emphasis on defense, with the clock ticking toward 90 minutes, the Orlando side got a bit more confused about what to do.
City finished the game with four shots total. Only one of the shots was on-target.
They didn’t play the typical physical game for Orlando, with only nine fouls to the Red Bulls’ 15. They only made two clearances, to New York’s 16.
Head coach Oscar Pareja acknowledged that the offense wasn’t working well in this game. He added that the worst part is their final third wasn’t effective.
The price for those problems: They left the pitch with a loss, rather than a point for the draw they should have had.
The international break is their opportunity to drill and fix their attack. The payoff will be that points won’t slip over – or through – the fingers of Orlando City SC again.