As Orlando City practices before its match with Vancouver on Saturday, the team refuses to give up hope about reaching the playoffs.
Orlando City still believes it can make it to postseason
Through an open window, shouts of, “Yes!” and high-fives could be heard when the referee blew the final whistle.
The celebrations came from some of the Columbus Crew’s staff sitting in a broadcast booth at Orlando City Stadium.
The Crew’s 1-1 draw Saturday kept them in playoff position. Without that point, they would have been tied in points with Atlanta United, which has a better goal differential, so it would have taken sixth as the Crew fell below the playoff cut line to seventh.
Meanwhile, the result also lowered Orlando City’s chances of mounting a comeback and squeezing into the postseason. Lions coach Jason Kreis and players continued to deliver hopeful messages, however, saying it doesn’t matter what others think.
They’ve held onto that hope all year as the team followed a 6-1 start by going 2-9-7. They remain eighth in the Eastern Conference, but now the Lions are five points behind No. 5 Columbus and No. 6 Montreal.
“When you start that way, you start to have visions of grandeur about what the season will entail,” Kreis said. “It creates a new level of expectation in almost everybody, yourselves included, fans, everybody. But the truth of
the matter is that we constructed this team this year to be a little better than last year.
“We didn’t go out and make wholesale changes. That was one of the options that we had and we chose differently. We chose to make minor changes, to bring in a few leaders to help this team and to improve the team bit by bit, looking at it as a longerterm process.”
When asked in a postgame news conference about the team’s significantly diminished chances of advancing to the postseason, Kreis shot back, “What’s significant?”
When told some projections had the Lions’ chances at 10 percent entering the night and at 6 percent after the draw, a 40 percent decrease, Kreis laughed and said, “That’s 4 percent, that’s less than state tax. … Listen, we know what everybody thinks.
“We need points now, and we need results. I think, mathematically, we are still in it. We will keep working.”
That’s fine. That’s absolutely fine because we also know what we think. We believe.”
If Orlando City won all of its nine remaining matches, it would finish the season with 58 points, plenty to make it to the playoffs. The Lions’ upcoming schedule isn’t particularly difficult, but their recent form doesn’t spark faith in a win streak, either.
Plus, the Lions lost another key player to injury Saturday. Midfielder Will Johnson, who wears the captain’s armband when Kaká is not on the field, has a lateral ankle sprain and will be out two to four weeks.
“Obviously, we are going to keep fighting,” striker Dom Dwyer said. “That’s all there is to do for us. We need points now, and we need results. I think, mathematically, we are still in it. We will keep working.”
Three of the nine games left are against Western teams, including Saturday’s home match against Vancouver. Four are against East Coast foes already ranked below them in the table — D.C. United, Philadelphia and two matches against New England. Then there’s Atlanta and another game against Columbus.
Of the teams ranked just above Orlando City and vying for the final playoff spots, Montreal is on a tear, winning its past four games. But the Impact also still have three meetings with No. 1 Toronto ahead, plus No. 2 Chicago and No. 3 NYCFC.
Columbus’ schedule includes
another trip to Orlando City Stadium and matches against NYCFC and the No.4 New York Red Bulls. The Crew also will face Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas, ranked first and fifth in the West.
Atlanta also has a pretty easy schedule, the toughest matches likely being FC Dallas, Orlando and Montreal.
“We don’t think we’re dead,” said Giles Barnes, who scored the Lions’ equalizer Saturday night. “The table is really close still. We believe that we’re capable of beating anyone on any day regardless of how many games are left. We’re a hungry group, ambitious group. It’s just about that finishing touch. And [Saturday], to come back from a goal down just shows our character. We’re here to win. We’re hungry. We’re here to give this support system what they deserve, which is for us to be in the playoffs at least.”
Orlando City striker Dom Dwyer