Orlando City SC overcomes speed struggle with Charlotte FC for a draw
• Equalizer signals the accelerator
• McGuire and Torres add to records
Orlando City SC fell hard to late-game speed in their previous game. So everyone knew the same treatment was coming in the next match.
After Orlando City SC equalized the match in the second half, Charlotte FC waited until the 77th minute. Then, although down a player due to a red card, they stepped on the gas during a counter-attack.
They finished with a 2-2 draw.
The reaction from Orlando was predictable, even though everyone knew this was coming. In their previous match with Los Angeles FC, City saw the opponents punch their accelerators again. They became disorganized. Even a bit confused.
Goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar saw Charlotte coming and, surprisingly, roamed off his line. Maybe the players didn’t expect such reckless aggression from FC while playing shorthanded.
With a goal essentially an empty net condition, Charlotte midfielder Brandt Bronico dashed in to record a goal for himself and an assist for striker Patrick Agyemang.
But unlike the previous match, the Orlando squad recovered quickly. They returned to a state of focus and began concentrating on this game situation. It was playing similarly to their last late-match speed test. And this time, they didn’t intend to fail.
Orlando had started to get confused. Charlotte forward Kerwin Vargas netted a ball in the 12th minute after a misplayed clearance. In the 63rd minute Orlando striker Duncan McGuire got things even with assists by Facundo Torres and Luis Muriel.
That goal ties McGuire for sixth all-time on the club’s all-time scoring list. The assist is the 19th for Torres.
It’s this game situation – City gets it together and evens the score – that signals the opponents to pour on the attack. And Charlotte did so.
So just four minutes after Charlotte got ahead once more, every Orlando player on the pitch regained their focus and poured it on themselves. From a corner taken by midfielder Nico Lodeiro. Facundo Torres got it and scored with a left-footed shot.
Orlando should have won this match, with Charlotte suffering a red car. But overcoming the second-half speed attack is a major turn in the right direction.
Even more important, they’ve overcome that attack with a point, instead of a loss.
Next time, it’ll be a win.