Orlando City can wrap up their first-round playoff series when they visit Charlotte FC on Friday night.
Fourth-seeded Orlando City notched a 2-0 home victory n the first match of the best-of-three series and now enter a rabid environment in Charlotte, with the Crown hosting the first playoff game in their three-season history.
“It’s a game we’ve got to win,” Charlotte midfielder Andrew Privett said. “It’s do or die.”
Facundo Torres (32nd minute) and Martin Ojeda (76th) scored for Orlando City in Sunday’s opener.
“We have worked all season to be ready for this instance in the playoffs,” Torres, from Uruguay, said through a translator. “Well, now are the moments where we have to show up where the team needs us all the most. That’s what the playoffs are about.”
Charlotte will certainly be looking to do a better job defending Torres, who had 14 goals in the regular season. That includes one in each match against Charlotte, coming in an Orlando victory and a draw.
“He’s a dangerous guy,” Privett said of Torres. “He has the ability to create and float all over the pitch. He’s a guy we have to keep an eye on at all times. He’s the guy that ultimately is the catalyst of their attack.”
Lions coach Oscar Pareja wants more cohesion from his squad. Orlando City had a 17-8 edge in shots but was unable to create distance until Ojeda’s late goal.
“We had a lot of volume, we created many chances,” Pareja said. “We could have put the game away in that first half or put Charlotte in a more difficult position, but we missed a lot of opportunities. In the second half, we became more tense in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the second half.”
Late in the match, Charlotte midfielder Pep Biel drew a red card for kicking at Orlando City defender Robin Jansson, and he will sit out Friday’s contest.
Charlotte coach Dean Smith vehemently disagreed with the call and the club filed an appeal that was unsuccessful.
“The video evidence contradicts the official’s report,” Smith said. “We put that in our appeal.”
The Crown put just two shots on target in the opener and will need to create more opportunities this time around. Leading goal-scorer Patrick Agyemang (10 goals) had just one shot in 21 minutes off the bench.
–Field Level Media