Orlando City SC planned to earn three points visiting Sporting Kansas City. But all the celebrating was by SKC.
Orlando City SC visited Sporting Kansas City sitting just above the playoff line. Kansas City sits just three notches from the bottom of the Western Conference. Yet SKC dealt the Lions their greatest shock of the season shutting them out 3-0.
Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia finished the match reaching fourth place in club history with his 292nd appearance. He reported his only real test in goal was in the third minute on a right-footed shot by Lions striker Ramiro Enrique.
Sporting looked as if the game was figured out before kickoff. They wanted to win on long shots. Kansas City winger Erik Thommy fired a 50-foot shot that sailed just a foot over the crossbar in the first minute.
But the first of three scores didn’t hit until the 44th minute when Stephen Afrifa connected with midfielder fellow midfielder Jake Davis who got the ball into the net.
Half of Sporting’s six shots on target were scored. The only on-target attempt by Orlando was Enrique’s attempt near the beginning of the contest. That was the only one that got some work out of the SCK goalkeeper.
It was the beginning when Head Coach Oscar Pareja said the Lions looked sharp. Indeed, they held off Kansas City until near halftime. But that 44th-minute tally was the only one necessary, as the other two scores were for insurance.
Pareja saw the players running out of energy near the half. He then described the second half as heartless.
After SKC forward William Agada drew a red card, Orlando played 35 minutes with a man advantage. Yet the team failed to get as much as one shot on goal while giving up two more scores by the opponent.
That’s because Sporting showed plenty of heart and energy. They outran City with precision, and everyone wondered how SKC could be near the bottom of their conference.
The Lions went 4-0-1 leading into this match. The defeat breaks that unbeaten streak and is the first time Orlando has been denied a goal since June 1.
It’s the end of the unbeaten streak. With a sharp understanding of how to fix what went wrong in this match, it may be the beginning of a strong run at the MLS post-season.
But what went wrong has to be drilled out of this squad first.