Orlando City SC will have to punch the accelerator next match
• It worked before and will again
• Concentration and focus will fuel team speed
One of the ways Los Angeles FC defeated Orlando City SC was to increase their speed late in the game.
Orlando City SC head coach Oscar Pareja identified speed late in the game as how Los Angeles FC beat Orlando City SC at home. The home team had a 1-1 tie in the 69th minute.
After that, LAFC put their feet to their gas pedals. They went ahead 2-1 in the 80th minute. They pounded in the final nail in the 86th minute, finishing the match with a 3-1 win over Orlando.
Orlando’s single goal was forward Martin Ojeda’s first of the season.
The LAFC late speed run caused City players to get disorganized. Before, they had kept up with the Los Angeles squad. After Ojeda’s equalizer, they lost control and began wearing out against the visitors’ attack.
That means LAFC has found a new way to dismantle Orlando’s system. It happened earlier this season. When that happened, it demonstrated how scouts chart how Orlando gets taken down and other teams employ the same system.
In the previous experience, each team playing Orlando worked from one of the back-three formations – or three-defender systems.
As City drilled on how to attack this system, the coaches and players found they had the personnel to play it. They began using it with some success.
Now that they’ve fallen to late-game speed, ingesting hair of the dog that bit them might work again.
Endurance facing LAFC wasn’t enough to win or draw this match. Learning the speed LAFC uses employs some of the basic soccer skills Orlando is already drilling on.
City has players who focus on where their teammates are. Where are those teammates in relation to opponents' positions? And finally, what chances can they create in these positions?
Rapidly gathering these conclusions begins before getting to the ball.
When most of the Orlando City SC are adept at these skills and have ensured they are healthy and have plenty of stamina, the speed will be ready to employ that can knock opponents off the beam.
All the first player to turn it on must do is get the ball and punch the acceleration pedal. If they’ve drilled correctly, Orlando teammates will all be in high gear together.