Dominating Performance From Orlando City Midfield
From an offensive standpoint, Orlando City played their best first half of the season thus far and a lot of that had to do with organized, committed play in the midfield.
Will Johnson, Cristian Higuita, Kaka, and Matias Perez Garcia were able to influence the game in many different ways. Lions midfielders executed the high pressure, ‘in-your-face’ tactics that Jason Kreis loves to see out of his team in home matches. These four players bring versatility, work rate, and exceptional quality in midfield areas for Orlando City.
Kaka and MPG combined for the first goal of the evening after the Lions sprinted out of the gates from kickoff. The fluidity and organization in the Orlando City midfield allowed the team to establish attacking dominance in the match.
Spector Scores First Goal in Purple
It had to be this way. Down 3-2, 94th minute, Specs saves the day with a towering header to equalize.
The center back is known for his defensive prowess, but Spector has been itching to get on the scoresheet and help his team earn positive results in other ways.
Orlando City Stadium exploded with cheers when Spector’s header hit the back of the net. Had it not been for a few defensive errors, the Lions probably would have cruised to a win. But Spector and the entire team deserves a huge amount of credit for sticking to their tasks and grinding out a draw.
For Specs, it had to feel good to open his Orlando City account in such dramatic fashion.
Kaka Plays Full 90 Minutes
A welcoming sight for Orlando City fans – Kaka starting and finishing a full MLS match.
Kaka picked up a muscle injury in the first match of the 2017 season and the Brazilian’s minutes have been limited since then. That being said, Kreis has still found ways to get Kaka in the first team after sustaining the knock.
Kreis and the Orlando City medical staff have done a tremendous job of monitoring Kaka’s health, and instituting him into the line-up when he is fit.
Kaka started and played the full match against Montreal on Saturday night. As one would expect, the Brazilian was an integral part of Orlando City’s attacking game plan. Kaka found spaces all over the field to express his world class quality.
At age 35, Kaka showed he can still turn on the jets when he needs to. He made a long, overlapping run around Giles Barnes to collect the ball and set up MPG for the Lions’ first goal of the match. Kaka sprinted past multiple Montreal defenders to open up space on the left flank on that play.
That play was one of many signs that Kaka is becoming fully fit and ready to become a feature in Jason Kreis’ starting lineup week in and week out.
