A tired Orlando City squad
is thrilled with a tie entering a three-week break.
NEW YORK — Orlando City had one goal: make it through Sunday.
It wasn’t easy. The Lions dipped into the bottom of their depth chart to field a team. They were on the road, and they were tired.
But they did it. They made it through Sunday and they took a point with them. Now, they will have a three-week break during an MLS international window.
“This break has come at an absolutely perfect time for us,” coach Adrian Heath said, adding many players were banged up and in need of rest, including forward Cyle Larin.
Larin, who previously scored multiple goals against New York teams, was quiet around the net during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with New York City FC at Yankee Stadium.
“I thought about resting him, but he’s such a goal threat that you don’t like taking goal threats off,” Heath said. “He [has] looked tired. I think from the Montreal game to midweek game against Philly and [Sunday], I think his energy levels [got] . . . just a little bit depleted each time. On a different day, he probably would have scored a couple of the chances he had.”
Heath is giving the players at least four or five days off this week before hitting the pitch again for training. The Lions’ next match is June 18 against the San Jose Earthquakes at home.
Kaká will be with the Brazilian national team during the break and much of the Orlando City lineup is expected to attend Brazil’s Copa América match against Haiti June 8 in Orlando.
If Brazil makes it out of group play, the Lions’ team captain could miss the matchup with the Earthquakes, along with the following game against Toronto FC.
“I think it was really good for all of us to get a result like that on the road,” Orlando City defender Tommy Redding said. “It was five points in eight days, so it’s really good for us going into the break now. We have time to relax and focus on getting better and coming back ready for it.”
The last time Orlando City rested during an international window was right after a 1-0 victory at NYCFC in March. The Lions came out of that 16-day break and blew away the reigning MLS champion Portland Timbers 4-1 at home.
Another win like that would be crucial for Orlando City, which broke out of a down period of six consecutive winless games last week. The Lions are now seventh in the Eastern Conference table but tied in points (16) with No. 5 D.C.
“This break has come at an absolutely perfect time for us.” Orlando City coach Adrian Heath
United, No. 6 Toronto FC and No. 8 New England Revolution. They’re all also only four points behind first-place Philly.
Orlando City forward Júlio Baptista, who scored the Lions’ first goal after subbing on in the second half against New York, said he wants to see the team work hard over the break to build confidence and consistency, elements that have been lacking.
“The team, I think, has games [it] plays well and games it doesn’t play well,” said Baptista, 34, who signed with Orlando City at the end of March. “They don’t have the confidence to play every game the same. I think we need to try to get back to working hard and try to better what we need to do.”