ORLANDO, Fla. -- Following a 4-0 loss to FC Dallas on Monday and a surprising exit of head coach Adrian Heath; it was another Heath who found himself in the midst of story lines.
Harrison Heath, the son of longtime head coach, was given his second career start during Friday night’s matchup against Houston Dynamo. Interim head coach Bobby Murphy complimented Heath on his performance despite the current difficult circumstances.
“It’s the hardest thing in the world for me [being] in this situation. I was super proud of him tonight,” Murphy said, “Playing Harrison [Heath] had nothing to do with the situation, it had to do with the fact that we were at home, we thought a lot about getting ahead of the ball, and I think he is one of our better passers in [the] midfield.”
Heath has made only one previous appearance earlier this season in New York, but that didn’t hinder Coach Murphy from adjusting the line up. With team captain Kaka out due to a calf injury and Tommy Redding and Rafael Ramos out with hamstrings changes needed to be made.
The biggest adjustment of the night was Darwin Ceren who started at right wing for the first time this season. Ceren, who typically plays in defensive midfield, was shifted in order to control defender DaMarcus Beasley. The move placed Health into a defensive midfield partnering with Cristian Higuita.
“I think he put in a really honest effort, I think he went up against bigger stronger guys and was not on the short end. He gave us some quality [time] in there, and to his credit he ran his legs off. I would have no problem with putting him in again and again,” said Murphy.
The scoreless draw was good enough to give Orlando City a point push over the playoff cutline sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference. The club earned its first clean sheet since the third match of the season.
