Player Grades: Orlando City vs. FC Dallas
Orlando City’s unbeaten streak at home came to and end as FC Dallas controlled most of the game and came out victorious, 2–0. A depleted Lions team could not even fill out an 18 player roster as Gold Cup, injuries and suspensions finally caught up to them. Orlando City will look to rebound with a friendly match against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday before hosting New York Red Bulls next weekend.
G Tally Hall- Tally finally was on the losing end of a match at the Citrus Bowl. Neither goal he could do much about as one was a penalty kick and the other his defense completely let him down. Grade- 6
RB Rafael Ramos- Ramos was one of the better players on the night and got forward as much as he could. For the most part he helped to contain Fabian Castillo. The Lions just never had enough of the ball to allow Ramos to threaten down the right. Grade- 6.5
CB Seb Hines- Hines didn’t make any glaring mistakes and was generally steady like we’ve become accustomed to. He helped thwart numerous Dallas corner and free kicks and might go back to a starter’s role due to Sean St. Ledgers shoulder injury- Grade- 6.5
CB Sean St. Ledger- St. Ledger looked like he possibly dislocated or sprained his shoulder in the first half and had to be subbed off before halftime. We should know more about his status going forward on Monday. Grade- 6
LB Luke Boden- It was a miserable night for Boden as the lack of Rivas ahead of him in the first half hindered his offensive abilities. He would end up earning his second yellow card in the dying minutes of the game and will miss next week’s match against New York Red Bulls. Grade- 5.5
CDM Harrison Heath- HH got the surprise start over Amobi Okugo but that might not be such a surprise moving forward. Heath struggled to come to grips with the match and often found himself going backwards. He was subbed off at halftime for Okugo. Grade- 5.5
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CDM Cristian Higuita- Higuita fought admirably in the middle as the Lions were overrun in midfield. He was at fault when he tripped Castillo in the box, although the contact was minimal at best. He will be excited to get Darwin Ceren back so they can resume their central midfield domination. Grade- 6
RM Eric Avila- If anybody remembers anything Avila did, please leave it in the comments section. The only thing I do remember is that he was subbed off for Danny Mwanga. That’s never a good sign. Grade- 5
CAM Pedro Ribeiro- Ribeiro was probably the best player on the pitch even though he never seemed to fit well at CAM in the first half. In the 2nd half he was a little more productive and looked to be robbed of a goal that was called offside. Grade- 6.5
LM Lewis Neal- Neal doesn’t offer a whole lot when he’s played out on the wing as he’s much more effective in a central holding role. When he moved up to CAM to start the second half he was more involved but couldn’t do enough to spark an Orlando City comeback. Grade- 6
S Carlos Rivas- Rivas was played out of position in the first half and the results were predictably bad. We will discuss Heath’s poor lineup selection over the next few days but it clearly didn’t help Rivas out. In the 2nd half Rivas moved to the left wing and started to create chances and had a brilliant assist to Ribeiro on the disallowed goal. However, the roller coaster continued as Rivas blasted a late penalty kick into Lake Lorna Doone. Grade- 5.5
Substitutions
CB Aurelien Collin- Collin came in for the injured St. Ledger and played well despite the team giving up two goals. Neither were his fault as he to looks resume his regular starting role. Grade- 6
CDM Amobi Okugo- Okugo was dreadful and at this point he’s playing his way to a possible spot outside the top 18. He was completely at fault on the 2nd goal. If Orlando City can get anything for him in trade, they’d be wise to take it. Grade- 4
FW Danny Mwanga- When Mwanga gets the call to help get a late goal you know you’re desperate. He was actually fairly active, but his career is likely coming to a close. Grade- 5
