Injuries and suspensions are a part of life in soccer and Orlando City has been no stranger to that over the last few weeks. As the team headed on the road last weekend, Jason Kreis had to piece together a starting lineup, but it worked out as the team emerged with three points from a 2-1 victory.
âThe whole week, we were just trying to make a decision,â said Kreis following the match in D.C. âThatâs the way weâre going to be, thatâs the way weâre going to operate now when we make decisions on lineups until we feel like we have to. We can train and we competed and laid it out there for the guys and we went through the guys that we thought earned it throughout the game.â
One of the players who got the nod to start with Giles Barnes â and he made an impact almost immediately finding Dom Dwyer with a key pass in the box who promptly feed a low cross to Cyle Larin for the opening goal.
âIt was fantastic,â Dom Dwyer said of the altered lineup. âWe started very lively, we got ahead of them in the game and obviously we held on to the lead.â
While City came out of the match with the win, they also find themselves with more lineup drama heading into this weekendâs match in Atlanta. Seb Hines and Servando Carrasco will both be unavailable after receiving red cards in D.C. and JosĂŠ Aja and KakĂĄ will sit due to yellow card accumulation.
âIn thinking about the lineup we put out next week, I think weâll be okay,â said Jason Kreis. âI think weâve got plenty of guys that can step in and do jobs and weâll rely on those players to do it and I think weâll be okay.â
The ânext man upâ policy will be in full effect this weekend and City looks prepared to handle that challenge.
âLuckily, weâve got a deep squad,â said Dwyer. âWeâll fill those gaps and look forward to the next game.â