It was a trying week for Orlando City. After a hot start to the season, they were tasked with one of Major League Soccer’s toughest challenges. Two road games in three days - 2,500 miles apart.
“We know it's difficult in our league, with the travel,” said head coach Jason Kreis following his team’s losses to Toronto and Houston. “The way it is and what you're asked to do – to play an opponent that didn't have a game midweek, when we traveled to Canada and back down South. It's a big challenge, but we knew that. And I'm not here to make any excuses.”
Even after the two defeats, Orlando City sits in second place in the Eastern Conference with a game-in-hand on the team above them. They aren’t about to let one tough week derail a fantastic start.
“You lose games on the road and the good teams in this league are the ones able to take the loss and then get back to what we do best and win the next one,” said Will Johnson. “Teams that struggle let these loses fester and start to knock their confidence, let one loss become two then three, four and before you know it you can’t get out of a tailspin. We have to regroup and put in a shift next week and look forward to trying to get a win.”
The good news? The Lions return to Orlando City Stadium on Saturday where they sport the only perfect record (5-0-0) in MLS. They’ll host Sporting Kansas City who had a tough result over the weekend as well, dropping three points in Minnesota.
“The good news is we are at home,” said Donny Toia. “We have to come out swinging. We are at home, we need to stay winning at home and we have to stay together. That’s the most important thing right now. After two losses in a row, we have to come together, stay together and come out with a win at home.”
The team will take Monday off to recover, before getting right back to work on Tuesday.
