Photo Credit: Nelson Lucindo
Goals, goals, goals. When starting the footballing weekend there is nothing better than starting a match with two hot franchises and the chance to see some brilliant strikes. This type of match will be on display on Friday night at the Orange Bowl as Orlando City SC play host to the Chicago Fire. The match will be held at 7pm on UniMas.
Despite having just one season under their belts, Orlando already has a distinct advantage against the Fire. The Purple Lions got points in all three regular season matches last season winning two of their matches on the road. Interestingly enough the Fire were able to pull through a 1-1 draw at the Citrus Bowl.
That being said, Chicago is a very different side than the one that took the pitch last season. Under the tutelage of General Manager Nelson Rodriguez and Coach Veljko Paunovic the Fire have made a one hundred eighty degree turn from where they were.
As opposed to last season where Chicago played a slower, more methodical style this team seems to be more open. In their 4-3 loss last week against New York City F.C. the Fire found great success with midfielder Razvan Cocis and Matt Polster putting long balls into open space for wingers Kennedy Igboannanike and David Accam. Accam, in particular, always found the right angle to slip in between the midfielders and defense. This style of play is a trademark of Paunovic, who used quasi-conservative practices led to Serbia claiming the under-20 World Cup.
In their 2-2 draw against Real Salt Lake Orlando City struggled to contain the speed of Joao Plata on the outside. Look for the Fire to hit the promising but untested left-back Luke Boden and right-back Rafael Ramos on counter-attacks and long balls all throughout the match.
After an offseason where depth and stability in the midfield were priorities Orlando already seems to be one step behind. The club will be without Darwin Ceren (red card) and Kaka (knee sprain) for Friday night’s match.
The good news for Orlando is that Antonio Nocerino is likely to make his first start for the club. Nocerino came to Orlando in the off-season from AC Milan. At 5’9″ he is not the most imposing midfielder in the league. However, he has shown in his time with Milan that he has a good first touch and knows how to orchestrate an attack. If he can develop a rapport with forward Cyle Larin early in this match Orlando might put this out of reach early.
Photo Credit: Nelson Lucindo
The Larin situation is interesting. Last week, Orlando City SC coach Adrian Heath paired Larin up top with Brek Shea and Kevin Molino. Although Larin did score last week, he seemed at times to be waiting for his partners to do his work for him. If Heath is going to continue to use a 4-3-3 then Larin has to help set up Molino and Shea so as to divert some of the attention away from himself.
Perhaps the biggest question mark of this match will be the Fire defense. Much like with Orlando, the Fire have a very, young interesting back four in Brandon Vincent, Joao Meira, Johan Kappelhof, and Michael Kappelhof. Also like Orlando they are very inexperienced and against a tactician like Nocerino who can set up complicated attacking plays they could be in for some trouble.
For both sides this will be a very interesting learning experience. With many more matches to play in the season neither side is at their best. But both sides have shown a flair for the dramatic already and a nose for the goal. A chance to watch some exciting goals and a good back and forth match? What else could a football supporter want?
