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Four straight victories in a row! That is the fantastic reality for Orlando City SC right now with our 3-2 victory over San Jose Earthquakes taking us to third in the Eastern Conference.
After a shaky start, Jason Kreis‘ Lions have displayed a marked improvement in each passing game with the first 70 minutes against Quakes a genuine joy to watch!
In both Dom Dwyer and Chris Mueller, Orlando City SC have two players in a fantastic vein of form right now and they proved the difference makers last time out.
Bringing in so many players in the winter, our squad always needed time to gel but seven games into 2018, on-field partnerships are beginning to blossom.
Not only did Dom Dwyer and Chris Mueller put in fantastic performances against Quakes but also Sacha Kljestan and Yoshimar Yotún who controlled the midfield with poise and panache.
As mentioned, the first 70 minutes saw Orlando City SC in complete dominance but Jason Kreis would’ve been disappointed at the manner in which the Lions cheaply conceded two headed goals from Florian Jungwirth – both off corners.
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Now travelling to Commerce City, Denver to take on Colorado Rapids, Anthony Hudson’s side placed eighth (8 points) in the Western Conference following Gameweek 8.
With the Englishman currently experiencing his first season in Major League Soccer, Rapids were also extremely busy in the off-season, bringing in several reinforcements.
British football fans will be familiar with many of these additions too including Danny Wilson from Rangers, Jack Price and Joe Mason from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Tommy Smith from Ipswich.
2015/17 head-to-head stats
The last time Orlando City SC faced Colorado Rapids, we were similarly heading into the fixture in a rich vein of form.
Starting the 2017 MLS season in fantastic style winning five of our opening six games, Jason Kreis‘ side earned a sixth victory with a shutout 2-0 victory over Rapids.
Effectively, this game was won from the bench with Carlos Rivas and Kaká both entering as substitutes around the 70th minute.
Barely on the field a minute, Carlos Rivas unleashed a thunderous 25-yard golazo past the helpless Zac MacMath.
This game will also be remembered as the stage in which Kaká marked his long-awaited return from injury to stab home a tap-in in stoppage time before celebrating with The Wall.
Orlando City SC 2 Colorado Rapids 0 – Highlights – April 29, 2017 (Credit: Dwayne Williams)
Three-and-a-bit seasons into our Major League Soccer era, Colorado Rapids are still waiting for their first league victory over the Lions.
Defeating the men from the Rocky Mountains 2-0 in our inaugural season and 2-0 yet again last term, 2016’s encounter was a 0-0 draw in the affectionately-named Mile High City.
Playing at altitude is tricky and Orlando City SC will have to acclimatise to these unique conditions at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park this Sunday.
Colorado Rapids 0 Orlando City SC 0 – Highlights – August 20, 2016 (Credit: Colorado Rapids)
So Colorado Rapids are yet to defeat Orlando City SC in MLS – great!
Even better is the fact that Rapids are yet to score a single goal against the Lions in three separate attempts to date.
With Rapids drawing a blank from 2015 through 2017, let’s hope Joe Bendik can add his second clean sheet to the season so far.
Colorado Rapids form
We’ve already mentioned about the unique playing conditions at high altitude in Commerce City and this is certainly playing to the home side’s advantage.
Indeed, Colorado Rapids are undefeated in their last SEVEN home fixtures at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Strong at home, Rapids head into this fixture on the back of a 3-0 loss at arch-rivals Real Salt Lake in the first leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup last weekend.
Anthony Hudson’s side will be glad to be facing Orlando City SC in familiar surroundings.
Orlando City SC form
Much was made about Orlando City SC‘s new found squad depth in the off-season and so far, this seems to be bearing fruit.
In rookie Chris Mueller, the Lions now have an energetic and hungry young professional who is impossible to leave out of the starting eleven right now.
Unexpected to be a key starter so early on in his Lions career, Chris Mueller displayed great maturity to score and assist another against San Jose Earthquakes last time out.
With the 21-year-old scoring three goals in three games and Dom Dwyer scoring five in four games, Orlando City SC have managed to score AT LEAST TWO GOALS in their last FOUR MLS fixtures.
Orlando City SC 3 San Jose Earthquakes 2 – Highlights – April 21, 2018 (Credit: Dwayne Williams)