Last weekend, Orlando City received their first loss of the season. Playing on the road against Columbus, the Lions lost a tight match 2-0. But losses are simply bumps in the road, as Head Coach Jason Kreis and his team have talked about before. This weekend, they’ll have their first chance to see how they’ll move forward from those setbacks.
“We have our first opportunity of the year to react and respond to that negativity,” Kreis said. “So, I’m really looking forward to how our guys handle that situation.”
While Orlando City did drop the match this weekend, Kreis took a lot of positives away from the performance.
“Actually, a lot of positives, really a lot of positives,” Kreis said. “When we look at the number of dangerous chances that were created against us, they were very few and far between. And I felt like we had quite a few decent chances and decent looks at the goal.”
The Lions were unable to find the back of the net, but they were able to get the ball down the field and create chances. Now, they have to figure out how to finish in the final third.
They’ll have the chance to make adjustments this weekend against the New York Red Bulls. While the team is off to a bit of a rocky start-- they dropped their last two matches after winning their first two-- Kreis knows they are a dangerous team and that his men need to be prepared.
“I would say that it’s a team that I feel is playing very well and haven’t probably gotten the results they deserve,” Kreis said. “So, if we look purely at the results we’re gonna put ourselves in a really bad spot. We need to know that this is a fantastic opponent that plays very good soccer and is extremely dangerous regardless of the results they’ve had over the first four games of the year.”
Kreis rarely focuses on his opponent. He’s focused on his squad and how they adjust and refine their performances.
“We know it’s a dangerous opponent and a massive challenge for us,” Kreis said. “But as I said before, it’s all about us now.”
Orlando City will host the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, April 9th at Orlando City Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4:00pm EST.
