Orlando City Drops Primetime Match At Home Against Toronto FC 2-0
By Orlando City // April 27, 2015
ORLANDO – Orlando City Soccer Club (2-4-2, 8 points) suffered a 2-0 defeat to Toronto FC (2-4-0, 6 points) at the Orlando Citrus Bowl on Sunday night, despite controlling 65 percent of the possession and outshooting the Canadian-based Club.
City’s home crowd was on full display for the primetime fixture – with 30,908 fans in attendance to watch some of Major League Soccer’s (MLS) brightest stars in action.
As a result, Orlando City’s attendance average of 39,328 marked the most for an expansion team through its first four home games, surpassing the previous record held by the LA Galaxy in their inaugural season (38,826).
With the large crowd urging them forward, Orlando City kicked off the match on the strong foot – breaking forward at each opportunity to create a final product on the end of their dominating possession.
The Lions’ attacking players, Kevin Molino, Cyle Larin and Kaka, were instrumental in creating chances, however, smart defending from the Reds and sound goalkeeping from Joseph Bendik maintained a clean-sheet through the first 45 minutes.
Five minutes into the second half, Toronto’s bunkering tactics paid dividends when U.S. Men’s National Team striker Jozy Altidore skipped past City’s defense to score the game’s opening goal.
In light of the visitor’s opening goal, Orlando increased its intensity to push forward in search of goal, placing more pressure on the Toronto backline.
However, with seven minutes remaining, Altidore secured a brace after running on to a deep long ball on the counter.
“It was obviously a difficult ending for us, but I don’t think we played well enough tonight,” said head coach Adrian Heath.
“In terms of moving the ball, this was probably the worst game we’ve had all season. They (Toronto) did what we thought they’d do and played their most experienced team. It made things difficult and blocked off the middle of the pitch. We fell into the trap of continuously trying to force it through the middle, and overall, I don’t think we were good enough to win the game.”
