Disappointing draws have become a recent trend for Orlando City SC.<\/p>\n
The Lions led the Chicago Fire 2-0 on Wednesday into the 57th minute before allowing two goals and settling for a 2-2 tie. On Oct. 24, the Lions let in a goal in the 99th minute of play in a 2-2 tie with New York City FC. On Oct. 14, Orlando City led into the 90th minute before a Toronto FC goal forged a 3-3 tie.<\/p>\n
Three points instead of nine points. With just two matches remaining, the Lions are still trying to clinch a playoff spot. Orlando visits Charlotte FC on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium with another chance to secure a postseason berth.<\/p>\n
Orlando City is 12-13-7 with 43 points. The Lions are seventh in Major League Soccer\u2019s Eastern Conference. They cannot move up in the standings but can move down. They want to claim seventh place, because the Nos. 8 and 9 teams must battle in a one-game elimination match.<\/p>\n
Charlotte is 14-10-8 with 50 points and is fifth in the East. The math is simple. Win and the Lions are in.<\/p>\n
Orlando did not have time to train with the short turnaround, so the focus has been on using video to help prepare tactically for the challenge that Charlotte presents. The Lions control their own destiny, with a win securing a spot in at least the play-in game. If they win their final two matches, they will grab the seventh seed and avoid the play-in.<\/p>\n
Several other combinations of results around the Eastern Conference could also secure Orlando\u2019s place in the postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this group of players and this team have been fighting a lot,\u201d said Orlando interim head coach Mart\u00edn Perelman. \u201cNow we are at the end, of course, fighting as well to secure that spot. It\u2019s important to remember where we came from, how we started the season, and where we are fighting now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perelman is referring to Orlando City\u2019s poor start to the season. The Lions lost their first three matches and five of their first six. That they are even in the playoff conversations and will likely grab one of the postseason spots is a credit to the club\u2019s turnaround.<\/p>\n
The Lions have scored in every one of their 19 matches since the start of August, a charge led by forward Antoine Griezmann. Griezmann (14 goals and seven assists) has scored in five straight games, helping secure important points to make up for defensive lapses.<\/p>\n
The French star has a goal contribution in 12 consecutive MLS matches, tying teammate Mart\u00edn Ojeda\u2019s club record. A goal or assist against Charlotte would give Griezmann the club record and make him just the second player in league history \u2014 after Lionel Messi \u2014 to record a goal contribution in 13 consecutive MLS matches.<\/p>\n
Orlando\u2019s backline has been an issue all season, and the suspension of defender David Brekalo because of yellow-card accumulation against Charlotte will not help matters. Iago has been inconsistent, but at only 21, still has the potential to improve. He will likely be partnered by Wilder Cartagena, typically a midfielder, in defense. Nolan Miller is another option after returning from injury in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Charlotte has plenty of firepower to threaten Orlando\u2019s back line. Idan Toklomati (15G, 5A) has scored in five straight games and has Charlotte sitting comfortably in the postseason.<\/p>\n
The Lions are 6-5-2 all-time against Charlotte, including a win and four draws on the road. They will need to be at their best to win Saturday, because anything less could see them fall further in the standings as the end of the regular season approaches.<\/p>\n
Orlando ends the season at home on Decision Day against the New England Revolution next Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disappointing draws have become a recent trend for Orlando City SC. The Lions led the Chicago Fire 2-0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[28,1335,139,4788,141,140,2062,76046,110],"class_list":["post-442924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-florida","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-city-sc","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-soccer","tag-social-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}