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Intelligence Report: Orlando City at New York City FC, Round 2

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The real question for this Sunday’s showdown between Orlando City and New York City FC in the Bronx is who exactly is going to be in the lineup for the visitors. With David Mateos and Cristian Higuita suspended, Kaká on his way to fill in for Douglas Costa on Brazil’s Copa America squad, and a few lingering injuries (Seb Hines, Darwin Ceren), we could see an unusual lineup, a change in formation, or both.

The Lions will try to make it three straight games without a loss but any kind of result has to be looked upon in wonder. After all, Orlando City will be playing its third game in nine days. The lineup will be patchwork and filled with tired legs, and the opponents are 1) at home, 2) on a week’s rest, and 3) furious with last week’s 7-0 home loss to the Red Bulls. They’ve had to sit with that 7-0 defeat eating their souls for a solid week. It’s safe to say there will be plenty of effort given by the hosts tomorrow at Yankee Stadium.

Here again to give us the New York City FC story is Jake Gofman from SB Nation’s NYC blog, Hudson River Blue. If you’d like to see how I answered their queries, you can do that here (note: I sent my responses to them prior to Kaká being called up to the Brazilian Copa America squad, so…yeah).

Since Orlando City and NYCFC last met, the Blues have put together sufficient results to climb among the East’s leaders while the Lions have won once in the last eight outings. What’s behind New York City’s surprising early season results?

Jake Gofman: We got a similar question from Once a Metro last week and you can imagine the joy I expressed in answering that question prior to getting drubbed by Red Bulls. I’m going to try to be more even keel answering you here. I think our five-game unbeaten streak going into that Red Bulls game was something I felt was coming based off of our performances in the early part of the season. We had some good showings early on, out-possessing and out-shooting our opposition, but we had a very difficult time converting.

We had a stretch where we went winless over seven matches, drawing four times and losing three, and in that stretch we were never out-possessed or shot. We averaged 59% of the possession in those games and took 48 more shots than our opponents. Of course, there were games where we were behind and therefore had to shoot more and possess the ball more, but I think in general we were the more dangerous team often.

I think what’s behind our ascendency is a level of comfort now with the formation, personnel, and coach. There are always going to be growing pains with a new coach, and I think a lot of the tactical moves Vieira made needed to be borne out against real competition. There was a healthy amount of tinkering with our team to find the right combinations of players to make it all work. It hasn’t all come together just yet, but I think the talent and tactics are beginning to shine through.

Despite the bright start for NYCFC, last week happened. What on Earth happened last week to allow the New York Red Bulls to romp 7-0 at Yankee Stadium?

JG: Oh boy, I know I’m going to have to answer for this for the next few weeks with every blog, but it doesn’t mean it’s not going to hurt every time.

RBNY destroyed us last week, and has outplayed us in every game of our “rivalry” so far for two reasons: they are a perfect foil to our strategy, and they are proficient in set pieces — something we cannot defend whatsoever. There’s a more complete version of this on our site.

Our strategy since the start has been to play an aesthetically pleasing brand of build-up soccer. Kreis had us playing it last year, and Vieira has us going all out, with a play-out-of-the-back-at-all-costs style. That requires some of our less skilled players (Saunders, Hernandez, Brillant, etc.) to have the ball at their feet constantly while under pressure. Teams in MLS have responded to our strategy by pressing high, but NYC gets away with it because those teams are not pressing teams. Insert Red Bulls, who employ a full-team, high press style of play against all MLS teams. Because they play this style against all clubs, it helps them really take it to a team like NYCFC, who at times can be stubborn. We lost the ball a lot out of the back on Saturday, and I expect that trend to continue if we don’t make a change next time we play.

The other thing that kills us against Red Bulls is our miserable defending on set pieces. We’ve dropped points in each of the last two seasons because of this deficiency, and this past week we gave up two goals to Dax McCarty, all 5-foot-9 of him. Both of these flaws — being susceptible to high pressure and being incapable of defending set pieces — hurt us mightily when we go up against Red Bulls.

Obviously the Frank Lampard saga continued this week. Let’s forget the off-field stuff. How do you expect Patrick Vieira to utilize him moving forward and will he play a role this weekend?

JG: That is a good question, because it’s been hard to see into Vieira’s plan for Frankie this year. He is, for all intents and purposes, healthy and capable of contributing. He came on as a substitute in our loss to Red Bulls, which was probably not the smartest time to introduce him to our fans, who were not so happy at the time. He should be part of the team that is available for Sunday’s contest, but I’m pretty sure he does not start, yet.

I think Frank will feature throughout this season in a role similar to what Pirlo is playing, however, I don’t expect the two to play together all that much given their defensive deficiencies. We may go back to a formation we were experimenting with that had three at the back, in which case I could see the two on the field together (although I wouldn’t like it). I think Vieira hopes Lamps has enough in the tank to contribute to the attack, especially in playing smart balls, controlling the play in the opponent’s third, and finishing when he gets the chance. Whether or not any of the Frank Lampard from the EPL exists is still a big question that will be answered as he begins to get more playing time.

Any suspensions/injuries we should know about? What’s your expected starting XI and score prediction?

JG: No injuries and suspensions to my knowledge, but one NYC player is gone for Copa America: Ronald Matarrita.

I think we return to the 3-4-3 W-M formation this week: Eirik Johansen; Jason Hernandez, Frederic Brillant, Andoni Iraola; Andrea Pirlo, Federico Bravo, Kwadwo Poku, Thomas McNamara; Steven Mendoza, David Villa, Khiry Shelton.

I see NYC rebounding from their loss to RBNY with a 2-1 victory. Villa and Shelton nab a goal each for NYCFC, while Larin scores one for the bad guys. (Editor’s note: So…you’re calling a Larin own-goal?)

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Big thanks to Jake from HRB for giving us some insight on Orlando City’s fellow 2015 expansion side.

Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls

Get some inside information on the New York Red Bulls ahead of their visit to Central Florida.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Congratulations on making it through the week, and now that you have, your reward is another Orlando City matchday right around the corner. This week sees the Lions welcome the New York Red Bulls into their den, as the good guys will try to make it two wins on the bounce.

A visit from the Red Bulls means I caught up with Mark Fishkin, of the always excellent Seeing Red podcast. Mark was gracious enough to help get us caught up on how the Red Bulls have looked in the 2024 season.

Emil Forsberg was the big off-season signing for the Red Bulls. It’s early, but how has he looked so far?

Mark Fishkin: To date, Forsberg has been as advertised: the veteran, serving as the coach on the field, leading the (mostly) young Red Bulls to a 3-1-1 start. In every conversation with the press, he talks about his desire to win. While off the field he appears to be enjoying himself, a story broke earlier in the week in London’s Daily Mail saying his wife has filed for divorce. How that will impact him going forward remains to be seen.

This is Sandro Schwarz’s first season in charge of the club. How does he want this team to play? Does it differ from what we saw last year under first Gerhard Struber and then Troy Lesesne?

MF: Schwarz has evolved RBNY into a more attractive team in 2024. While the press is always part of the mix, the new New York coach has showed a flexibility to play more of a possession style or even a counter-attacking style if the game state calls for it. Against Miami last week, a lethal counterattack was the key to the Red Bulls’ 4-nil shellacking of the Herons.

Again, its still quite early, but what do you believe the expectations should be for the Red Bulls this season? 

MF: The playoffs are a given with the Red Bulls, who last missed the postseason in 2009. However, given this unexpected start, a top-four finish in the East is the marker…for now.

Are there any players who will be unavailable for selection due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting lineup and score prediction?

MF: Assuming all five Red Bulls’ starters  come back from international duty healthy, we’re looking at:

Carlos Coronel; John Tolkin, Noah Eile, Sean Nealis, Kyle Duncan; Frankie Amaya, Daniel Edelman, Emil Forsberg, Lewis Morgan; Elias Manoel, Dante Vanzeir.

Schwarz has the team set up in a 4-2-2-2 or 4-2-3-1.

Given the Red Bulls’ hot start, and Orlando’s struggles, a 2-2 draw or 2-1 New York win are surely possible.


Thank you to Mark for the insight into NYRB. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/29/24

Lions brace for the Red Bulls, Pride take on Chicago, OCB will play Inter Miami II in Bradenton, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! Today marks one year since we here at The Mane Land published our first story here at our new independent home. It’s a bit hard to believe that it’s already been a year. Thank you all for sticking with us or checking us out since our move. That kind of support goes farther than you might think. I joined the team back in October of 2016 as an editor and it’s only just now hitting me that I’ve been here for nearly a quarter of my entire life. Here’s hoping for another great year of independence and Orlando soccer!

Orlando City Set to Host New York Red Bulls

Orlando City’s match at home Saturday night against the New York Red Bulls was noted as one of the top matches in the league this weekend. The Lions earned their first win of the MLS season last weekend and will look to build on that momentum heading into tomorrow. The Lions will also get a boost from players returning from international duty, with Duncan McGuire, Facundo Torres, David Brekalo, and Peruvian duo Pedro Gallese and Wilder Cartagena back. They’ll have their hands full against a New York team that’s coming off of a 4-0 win over Inter Miami. Lewis Morgan had a hat trick in that match and Orlando’s defense will have to find a way to keep him and the rest of the Red Bulls from running rampant.

Orlando Pride Take On Chicago Tonight

The Orlando Pride’s third match of the NWSL season kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. when they host the Chicago Red Stars. The Pride enter this match following a gritty 1-1 draw against Angel City FC, with Brazilians Angelina and Marta linking up on a corner kick for a late equalizer. One thing to keep an eye on in tonight’s match will be how the Pride’s shorthanded defense can limit Chicago’s attack. The Pride have targeted versatile players while rebuilding, and that proved to be worth it last week as multiple players stepped up to fortify the back line. The last time these two sides squared off in Orlando was in August of last year, with the Pride coming up with a big 5-0 win. Hopefully we get to see a similar result tonight.

OCB Match Will Be Part of Generation Adidas Cup

Tuesday’s MLS NEXT Pro match between Orlando City B and Inter Miami II will take place at IMG Academy in Bradenton and will be part of this year’s Generation Adidas Cup. The participating teams of the tournament were invited to attend the match, along with their families, and fans can watch the match for free on the league website. The match will be broadcast in English, but a new AI dubbing platform will be used to instantly translate it into Spanish, French, and Portuguese. It will supposedly maintain voice and tone, so I’m morbidly curious to hear just how artificial it will sound.

Generations Adidas Cup Kicks Off Tomorrow

Speaking of the Generation Adidas Cup, the youth tournament kicks off tomorrow. All MLS academy teams will compete alongside some of the top youth teams from around the world in both the U-15 and U-17 age groups. Orlando City’s U-15 side was noted as one to watch after a strong run of form this year. Caleb Trombino has been solid defensively and Jakob Garcia has the attacking talent to light it up in this tournament. The team can make a statement when it takes on Arsenal’s U-15 squad at 10 a.m. this Sunday. That match, along with 27 others, will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass.

Free Kicks

  • The Lions received some special visitors for their training.
  • Somehow, the Seattle Reign’s Ji So-Yun beat Marta to win NWSL Goal of the Week.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do to earn a second victory in a row at home this Saturday?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City is coming off its first win of the MLS regular season and will look to carry that momentum into Saturday night’s Eastern Conference matchup against the New York Red Bulls. The Lions will have several players back from international duty, making Oscar Pareja’s job a bit easier, although some of them will be on short rest. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points against the Red Bulls?

Stop Morgan

Lewis Morgan has been on a tear this season with five goals in five matches. That is more than every Orlando City player combined so far this season. The Red Bulls were held scoreless in two matches, meaning those five goals have come in three matches, with Morgan scoring a hat trick against Inter Miami. I love that he took it to the Herons like that, but I’m going to need him to cool off a bit against the Lions.

If Orlando City is to stop Morgan it will take excellent defending from the Lions’ back line and of course Pedro Gallese, who is returning from international duty. Orlando City also gets Wilder Cartagena and David Brekalo back, meaning more of the first choice lineup will be available to keep a clean sheet. With the match at home, earning a clean sheet is all the more important.

Proper Rest and Preperation

It might seem silly to say, but having more than a few days between matches is conducive to earning points. When Orlando City was participating in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Lions never had time to properly recover or train with a game plan for the next match. Now, the Lions are able to do so, and the result against Austin FC reflects that.

Pareja is a top level MLS coach. We know that he has a plan for about the first 20 minutes of any match, and then makes adjustments throughout the remainder of the match. Even so, many of those adjustments have been planned out prior to the match. That, paired with a more rested roster, allows the Lions to be the protagonists Pareja wants them to be.

Shots, Shots, Shots

Orlando City was able to create plenty of chances against Austin FC, and will need to do so again against the Red Bulls. The Lions took 22 shots Saturday night, with eight on target, and they put two in the back of the net against Austin. Hopefully, Orlando City can be more efficient going forward, but if you don’t create opportunities, you won’t score.

The Red Bulls have some decent defenders who Orlando City will have to deal with, including fullback John Tolkin and Carlos Coronel at keeper. If the Lions can pass even close to the way they did against Austin, the opportunities will come, and if that is the case, hopefully the goals will come. Orlando City still has a sizable goal deficit, thanks to the early part of the season, that can only be corrected with more goals on the other end.


That is what I will be looking for this Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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