Orlando City vs. LA Galaxy: Player Grades
Orlando City routed the defending MLS Cup Champions, 4–0, in front of 40K+ fans at the Citrus Bowl. It was Orlando City’s first home victory in MLS. Orlando moves up to 5th place in the Eastern Conference standings and will head to San Jose next weekend.
G Tally Hall- The long wait for Tally Hall’s return is over and now Orlando City has a keeper who might be able to steel a match for them. Hall was required to do very little against Galaxy but you could already see the differences between Hall and Ricketts. Hall is much quicker and seems more aggressive. He had a nervy opening as he dropped a cross and had a poor pass out of the back, but after that he settled in. It was a nice easy match for Hall to reacclimate himself to game situations. Grade- 7
RB Rafael Ramos- Ramos tore down the right flank with ease as Galaxy had no answers on defense all night. He delivered the initial ball to Brek Shea who calmly headed it back to Avila for the first goal. His crosses get better from week to week, and with more players attacking the box, his assist total should continue to rise. Grade- 7.5
CB Seb Hines- Hines was an absolute boss in central defense as he assumed the Aurelien Collin role of aggressively challenging forwards early and winning almost every one-on-one battle he was in. It was his best game of the season, and it’s good to see him step up in the absence of Orlando City’s early season MVP. Like we suspected before the match, the combination of Hines and St. Ledger is more than capable of producing strong performances while Collin recovers from his hamstring injury. Grade- 8.5
CB Sean St. Ledger- It’s hard to think St. Ledger was a trialist signing mere days before the season started as there are plenty of teams he could do a job for in MLS. He played the usual Hines role and was the deepest defender and let his partner in central defense attack and disrupt any Galaxy momentum coming forward. Grade- 7.5
LB Luke Boden- Boden wasn’t required to rule the flank and pump crosses into the box as Orlando City attacked at will from any position on the field. His defending, when needed, was composed and his distribution was solid. Perhaps the best aspect of Boden’s game were his corner kicks. Every kick was a beautiful curler that gave Galaxy fits all night. This should make Orlando City much more dangerous from set pieces and corner kicks from the right side of the field. Grade- 7.5
CDM Darwin Ceren- What more can be said about Ceren? Thought to be a question mark at the beginning of the season and penciled in as a backup holding midfielder, Ceren has blossomed into an MLS star. He does everything well and most importantly he’s consistent. His long range deflected goal was a fitting reward for the form he’s been in lately. His double ankle breaker in the first half left the press box chuckling. Adrian Heath summed it up in the post-game press conference, “I thought he was the best player on the field.” You wont see this grade very much from CST, but Ceren was dominant in another Man of the Match performance. Grade- 9
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CDM Cristian Higuita- Wow, another dynamic performance from the young Colombian. His ability to get up the field from deep-lying positions is dramatically different than what we are used to from Amobi Okugo. Higuita is the tough tackler needed so that Ceren can advance forward. He can lull opposing midfielders to sleep and use an extremely quick burst to blow by them with ease. Higuita and Ceren could potentially form one of the more dominant central midfield pairings in MLS. With Higuita back in the fold, the last three halves he’s played has produced 6 goals for OCSC. That’s not a coincidence. Grade- 8.5
RM Eric Avila- I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been down on Avila lately. He’s always been a hard worker and Heath’s trust in him finally payed off as he opened his 2015 MLS account with a well placed header. While he’s never going to wow you on the wing, he does the little things right and is far ahead of Carlos Rivas in the right wing pecking order. I would still prefer him to play a bit wider to help open up space in the middle, but his talents are clearly better served centrally while Ramos handles the wing. Grade- 7.5
CAM Kaká- Vintage Kaka was on display as that silky touch was back after a month’s absence. He clearly enjoyed the space Galaxy afforded him as he pulled all the strings in attack. For me, the most impressive aspect of Kaka’s game is his fitness. He’s not only directing the attack, but is often making long runs into open space and seems to have plenty of life in his legs, especially after 3 matches in 10 days. Just last week I thought he needed a rest, but he appears to have found a second wind and was brilliant all match long. His stutter step and perfectly weighted assist to Cyle Larin was a thing of beauty. His Kevin Molino tribute is just another example of his class and leadership. He’s a great DP on the field, and an even better ambassador off it. Grade- 8.5
LM Brek Shea- Shea is still a work in progress on the left wing, but he’s improving every week and his understanding with Kaka was much better. He seems more confident each game and was even able to get on some longer through balls where his talent will really shine. He was also a menace on corner kicks and crosses as his 6'3 frame dominates the back post and makes life miserable for opposing defenders. His unselfish assist to Avila is a microcosm of the type of player Shea is. Grade- 8
S Cyle Larin- 4 goals in 6 starts. That’s a pretty successful to start to an MLS career. He’s exactly what you want out of a target man. His hold up play is already up there with big imposing strikers like Jozy Altidore and he just needs to add some finessed distribution to his repertoire. His calm finish off Kaka’s pass shows his confidence is beaming. While Kaka had a few words for him on occasion when he should have passed instead of shot, it’s hard to blame an in-form striker for shooting when he has the opportunity. Grade- 7.5
Substitutions- No grades will be given for the late subs as OCSC already had a 4–0 lead and play was inconsequential at the time.
CDM Amobi Okugo- Okugo came on in the 74th minute and there was a noticeable drop off from Higuita’s play. He doesn’t possess the same athletic qualities as Higuita or Ceren but there is still a place for him in this squad. The season is long and with potential US Open Cup games adding to the grind, his services will be very important for Orlando City going forward.
S Carlos Rivas- Rivas continued his string of late cameo appearances and almost got on the end of a cross. His chance to play 90 minutes will come eventually, but Eric Avila is entrenched on the right wing for the time being.
S Martin Paterson- It was good to see Paterson make his MLS debut after a lengthy injury battle. The depth he provides for Cyle Larin could turn out to be crucial.
