In Orlando City’s 2-1 victory over New York City FC (NYCFC), the team displayed a strong defensive performance that Head Coach Jason Kreis has been trying to develop in his team since he came in over a month ago. The Lions had a strong performance a few weeks ago against the Colorado Rapids, and despite giving up NYCFC’s lone goal, the defensive nature of throughout the team helped carry Orlando City to their victory.
“The defense of the entire team, the work of the entire team put forth to defend tonight, was very, very good,” Kreis said after the match. He didn’t want to limit the discussion to the back four, because for Kreis, the entire team needs to be involved in the defense. Defender Tommy Redding, who departed from his usual position of center back and played at right back in the match, agreed that it is nice to have the whole team on the same page.
“I think, for us, we’re getting better every game defensively and it shows on the field,” Redding said. “It feels great to have that same sense of mind.”
As for starting Redding at right back, Kreis said that stemmed from the exhaustion of right back Kevin Alston, who played the entire 90 minutes against Toronto FC on Wednesday. “I really wanted to rest him and give him a break,” Kreis said. “Tommy did an admirable job there.”
Redding admitted that the position felt a little out-of-character for him. “It was definitely different for me… but I was happy to come in and contribute and do my part,” Redding said after the match. “I’m a born and breed center back, but if coach needs me to play right back, I’ll play right back as often as he needs me to.”
Kreis and his team are hoping to carry their success on both sides of the ball onto their next few matches, where they will be traveling to both Montreal and Los Angeles. Knowing the style of Kreis, we know that they’ll just need to go back to training and keep developing their skill.
“We’re gonna continue to push,” Kreis said. “And we’re gonna continue to work hard this week to prepare ourselves.”
