Lions struggle through road loss
Orlando City entered Portland’s Providence Park confident after four points in two games and hungry for more.
Lions coach Jason Kreis rolled out essentially the same lineup, one that did not include Kaká, and felt he knew what to expect from the opponent before kickoff Sunday night.
By the end of the match, Orlando City (9-13-8, 35 points) was two men and three goals down, losing 3-0 to the Portland Timbers (13-10-8, 47 points).
“I do feel that the team lacked the energy needed to pull off a result in a difficult place like this,” Kreis said. “We had a good week of work. We came out here a day early in an effort to have our players adjust to the time zone, and we had a really good training yesterday. I fully expected this to be a really strong performance today, and what I saw was exactly the opposite.
“Our guys didn’t show up to compete tonight. Incredible to me, incredible ... that they came into what I think was arguably the most important game of the season tonight and didn’t give their best.”
Orlando City struggled to handle Portland’s speedy attack, which Lions centerback Jonathan Spector fell victim to in the 15th minute when striker Darren Mattocks sped by him in an attempt to regain control of the ball. As Mattocks slid into the ball, Spector clipped his heel and triggered a video review that ultimately awarded a penalty kick to the Timbers.
Star forward Diego Valeri converted the PK to give his team a1-0 lead and extend his MLS record scoring streak to nine consecutive games.
About15 minutes later, that lead doubled.
Midfielder Diego Chara started the sequence by sending a long ball forward to the right of the box. Teammate Dairon Asprilla sped past two Lions defenders to gain control and deliver a cross for Mattocks to finish.
Throughout the first half, Orlando City was too slow and failed to pressure the Timbers, who were able to get behind the back line.
In the second half, the lions switched from a 4-4-2 formation to a 4-2-3-1, hoping the extra man in the midfield would help, but they never got a chance to find out.
Spector earned a second yellow in the 47th minute, resulting in a red card and his ejection. Orlando City subbed centerback Seb Hines on for midfielder Dillon Powers and played in a 4-4-1.
The Lions showed a spark of energy after the ejection not previously seen, but they weren’t capable of holding off the Timbers.
One of goalkeeper Joe Bendik’s seven saves came in the 59th minute when he threw a hand out to tip a Mattocks shot. The ball redirected behind him and would have rolled out of bounds, but Valeri chased it down and tapped it into an open net for a 3-0 lead.
Chants of “MVP!” erupted from the home crowd.
“He’s a top player. He’s running for the MVP this season,” Hines said. “Even when you’ve got 11-v-11 he gets in some great positions to influence the game, and it was a tough job to try and stop him today.
“The lads kept working til the end, put our bodies on the line. Joe made some really good saves and Dom [Dwyer] had a chance at the end. … We just have to nip this one in the bud and move on.”
As time wore on, a few arguments broke out between players and Orlando City received one final blow to make clear there was no salvaging the match.
Victor “PC” Giro, who subbed on for left back Donny Toia in the 77th minute, jostled with Chara while forming the wall for a Lions free kick. Just before the ball was kicked, his elbow caught Chara in the face and the official pulled out a straight red.
After intense objection, PC left the field and the Lions finished with nine players.
“Our guys didn’t show up to compete tonight. Incredible to me.” Orlando City coach Jason Kreis