Last season, the Union thought they buried Orlando City when Fafa Picault wove through the defense to lash home an 88th minute wondergoal. It wasn’t to be. The Purple Lions also ixnay’d Borek Dockal with a questionable tackle, putting the Union in a difficult position for the stretch run of the season.
Now the Union return to Orlando to face a far different side. Head coach James O’Connor has rebuilt the Florida team in his image: Hard working, high pressing, and relentless. This is impressive for multiple reasons. First, that O’Connor achieved such a feat with a largely unchanged team. Many of the players that were part of Jason Kreis’ short tenure have remained but have bought into the new coach’s ideas. Second, the big new signing that has arrived is Nani, a Portugese winger who is known for his trickery rather than his workrate. Nani has integrated well, and with Dom Dwyer returning from a recent layoff, Orlando will be leaning heavily on that duo to jumpstart an attack that needs to hit high gear to keep up with their strong defense.
Is that right? Orlando, the team that shipped 74 goals in far fewer than 74 games last season now has one of the better defenses in MLS?
Yup. Only three teams in the league have an Expected Goals Against below 1.10 this season: LAFC, NYCFC, and Orlando City.
So how do you penetrate this back line? It’s all about fighting through the first wave of pressure then making the back four turn and run. In short, not all that different from how you get at NYC. This puts the spotlight on three players for Philadelphia: Jack Elliott, Haris Medunjanin, and Jamiro Monteiro.
Elliott has played at an All-Star level this season, and his standout attribute has been, unsurprisingly, passing. The long crossfield hero balls, however, are not what makes Elliott special. Instead, it’s the angled balls into midfield that allow the Union to transition quickly from back to front.
Medunjanin and Monteiro also need to move the ball with speed to help Philly get at Orlando before they can protect their back line.
For Medunjanin, this is par for the course, and Monteiro is more than capable. The Cape Verde international, however, can sit on the ball at times and slow down transitions. Monteiro’s comfort on the ball is exceptional in the final third, and now the Union just need him to speedily move the ball into those areas.
Orlando City’s own attacking danger comes when they can move off the wings and send runners into the box through the channels. Nani and Sacha Kljestan can dink balls behind a defensive line as well as anyone in the league, and Dwyer’s movement in the box makes him a constant threat.
The Union and Orlando City go head to head twice in four days, with their first matchup on July 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET in Orlando on PHL17.
