MLS Week 1: First impressions of all 24 teams

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 3: Los Angeles FC's head coach Bob Bradley prior to Los Angeles FC's MLS match against Sporting Kansas City at the Banc of California Stadium on March 3, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles FC won the match 2-1 (Photo by Shaun Clark/Getty Images) /

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ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 02: Chris Mueller #9 of Orlando City runs past Maxime Chanot #4 of New York City during a MLS soccer match at Orlando City Stadium on March 2, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /

Orlando City SC

Brian Rowe cannot be fully blamed for either goal. Orlando City attackers should have found at least one first-half goal, but a draw against NYCFC on opening day is something to build on. Manager James O’Connor has a clean slate to begin this season, and this match showed OCSC may finally have the foundation of a playoff team. Dom Dwyer and Nani came on as subs just as it was taking hold of the match.

There are still some bugs to work out, but there are some useful features to O’Connor’s deep block of seven with two forward outlets. Orlando City needs some healthy center-backs but should manage a better goal differential than last season. Both Lamine Sane and Carlos Ascues should be starting in defense soon.

How will Nani, Dwyer and the other high salaried subs fit into the plan? Josue Colman, Cristian Higuita, and Oriol Rosell will be pushing for minutes. Chris Mueller has earned a spot. Has Sacha Kljestan finally aged into a super-sub role? Tesho Akindele was hobbled and subbed off moments after he scored the equalizer. With a healthy squad, Orlando City has the talent to compete for a playoff spot. That was true in years past, but the team seemingly quit at the first signs of trouble. Orlando City showed heart, along with more speed and aggression in possession than ever before. That’s an encouraging sign, even before adding the experience of Nani and Dwyer.

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