Orlando City played three games in eight days last week, and the players admit it is not an easy feat.
“For me my difficulty is when to fly,” said Orlando City midfielder Antonio Nocerino. “When you fly from Orlando to Toronto, and then you play at Houston – it’s not simple.”
The Lions faced Colorado at home and defeated the Rapids 2-0 on April 29, but soon took the road. The team traveled to play against Toronto FC on May 3. After a quick turnaround, the Lions flew to Houston to play the Dynamo on May 6.
“It always hard to go away from home,” said forward Giles Barnes. “I think you underestimate the travel, especially we had the three games in a week and two of them were actually on the road. Getting from Toronto to Houston, everyone tries to do as best as they can to prepare. But sometimes you can’t beat the actual freshness that you can be in your legs from just having that extra day in the week or just not being on the plane.”
Orlando City lost both games, but they are not using their travel schedule as an excuse.
“When I lose and when I win, I don’t have excuses,” Nocerino said. “It is very difficult for me when I fly for a long, long time. But it is normal in the MLS and it’s no problem.”
Orlando City, after a week’s worth of rest will play at home against Sporting Kansas City this Saturday at 7 p.m. The team will then face another two-game week, traveling to San Jose to face the Earthquakes on May 17 and then returning home to square-off against New York City FC on May 21.
