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New York Red Bulls Vs Orlando City: 3 things we learned – Sacha Kljestan haunts NYRB

By Chris Smith

HARRISON, NJ - MARCH 23: Sacha Kljestan #16 of Orlando City celebrates his goal with teammates during 2nd half of the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
HARRISON, NJ - MARCH 23: Sacha Kljestan #16 of Orlando City celebrates his goal with teammates during 2nd half of the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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HARRISON, NJ – MARCH 23: Nani #17 of Orlando City jumps over Amro Tarek #3 of New York Red Bulls during the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
HARRISON, NJ – MARCH 23: Nani #17 of Orlando City jumps over Amro Tarek #3 of New York Red Bulls during the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images) /

2. Organised Orlando

For all the blame and criticism we can throw at NYRB, credit must also be given to Orlando City for their supreme defensive performance on Saturday.

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The Lions had the worst defence in MLS in 2018, conceding 74 goals and leaving more gaps than a block of Swiss cheese. This season hadn’t shown much improvement either, with Orlando letting in six goals in three games prior to Saturday.

However, everybody did their part on Saturday to finally seal a clean sheet. In midfield, Oriol Rosell and Carlos Ascues shut the Red Bulls down with seven and three tackles respectively, as well as making a combined five interceptions. In defence, Shane O’Neill was an animal, snuffing out any hint of an aerial threat or dangerous cross with six aerial duels won, no player bettered that on the night.

Ruan and Moutinho motored up and down their respective wings all night and made sure that not only were they nicely tucked into the defence when required, but also high up to provide width and a credible threat when Orlando mounted counter-attacks. Those two are going to be sore in the morning.

It’d be incredibly ambitious to say this is a kick-starter result for Orlando that could fire them into playoff contention, but with Nani slowly adapting to MLS and signs that their defence may finally be starting to organise themselves, who knows what could be in store for the Lions in 2019?

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