After a rallying second-half performance helped Orlando City SC rescue a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with New York City FC on Gameweek 1, James O’Connor‘s Lions now head north.
Facing our first road test of the season at Chicago Fire, Orlando City SC head to Bridgeview, Illinois knowing that our away form requires huge improvement in 2019.
Bossing possession in long periods of the game against NYCFC last weekend, some naive Lions defending allowed the visitors to sail into a two-goal lead at half-time in Central Florida.
With both Ebenezer Ofori and Alexander Ring taking their chances ruthlessly, Orlando City SC were punished for a lack of punch in the attacking third.
Whatever James O’Connor said at half-time seemed to work a treat however with the Lions digging incredibly deep to turn things around in the second-half on a sweltering day at Orlando City Stadium where temperatures reached almost 30 degrees.
Rightfully claiming the Man of the Match prize, it was Chris Mueller‘s 59th minute free-kick that swung the momentum back in Orlando City SC‘s favour before neat work from substitutes Nani and Dom Dwyer set up Tesho Akindele for a tap in on his Lions debut.
With plenty of positives to take from this fightback including encouraging debut performances from rookie Kamal Miller and Jhegson Méndez, the Lions now head to a venue where they were utterly embarrassed on their last visit.
Thrashed 4-0 at SeatGeek Stadium last September, Orlando City SC supporters will want to see a far more gutsy performance in Bridgeview with a weary Lions squad bereft of fight, belief and ideas on that day.
With Chicago Fire narrowly losing 2-1 at LA Galaxy in Gameweek 1, Veljko Paunović’s side will be incredibly eager to bounce back in their first home game of the 2019 MLS campaign.
2015/18 head-to-head stats
As mentioned at the outset, Orlando City SC will want to forget a quite terrible outing at Chicago Fire back in September 2018.
Arriving in Bridgeview, Illinois on the back of 10 consecutive away losses beforehand, confidence on the road was at an all-time low.
This showed badly with Chicago Fire racing into an early third minute lead through the prolific Nemanja Nikolić.
With Aleksandar Katai and Michael de Leeuw goals piling on the misery for James O’Connor‘s men before the hour mark, former Hungarian international Nikolić rubbed salt in the wounds with Fire’s fourth on 70 minutes.
This was indeed the second time in three head-to-heads that Chicago Fire defeated Orlando City SC by four goals to zero at home.
Chicago Fire 4 Orlando City SC 0 – Highlights – September 16, 2018 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
That most recent 4-0 victory for Chicago Fire over the Lions edges them slightly in front in this particular game series.
With three victories to Orlando City SC‘s two, the Men in Red are turning into something of a bogey side for the Lions.
In last season’s other head-to-head, the outcome was equally sickening. Losing 1-2 at Chicago Fire at Orlando City Stadium in May 2018, a late Alan Gordon laser cruelly punished a Lions side who wasted so many chances to put the game away.
Looking back, this was a game that really seemed to dent Orlando City SC‘s self-belief with six consecutive losses following this narrow home defeat.
Orlando City SC 1 Chicago Fire 2 – Highlights – May 26, 2018 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
A bogey side? Well, it’s starting to look that way for Orlando City SC with Chicago Fire unbeaten in their last SIX MLS head-to-heads with the Lions stretching back to the start of the 2016 season.
Orlando City SC‘s only two victories over the Men in Red came back in our inaugural 2015 campaign and ironically these both came at Toyota Park, now known as SeatGeek Stadium for sponsorship reasons.
It’s safe to say Orlando City SC are long overdue a result against the one-time MLS Cup champions.
Chicago Fire form
Chicago Fire’s goalscoring talisman of course, Nemanja Nikolić is undoubtedly one of the most feared strikers in all of Major League Soccer.
Scoring in THREE of Fire’s last FOUR home fixtures in MLS last season, the 31-year-old was actually an unused substitute at LA Galaxy on Gameweek 1 with winter signing C. J. Sapong leading the line.
Sadly, Nikolić is also no stranger to netting goals against Orlando City SC with the Hungarian having scored three against the Lions since 2017.
Chicago Fire 3 Los Angeles FC 1 – Highlights – September 29, 2018 (Credit: LAFC)
Orlando City SC form
There is no room for Orlando City SC to dwell on what’s gone before – that’s merely history.
That said, James O’Connor will be eager to use last season’s terrible away form as a motivator for improved performances this time around.
Earning just two away league victories in all of 2018, the Lions need to find a way to score on the road with Orlando City SC scoreless in their last five away assignments in MLS.