Margins tighten, mistakes are magnified and a chance missed might as well be a goal conceded. That’s the beauty and brutality of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, as Orlando City SC reminded Nashville SC at Exploria Stadium on Monday night.
A jaw-dropping long-distance strike from Wilder Cartagena, two excellent Pedro Gallese saves on Hany Mukhtar and two glaring misses by the visitors made the difference in the Lions’ 1-0 Round One Game 1 victory, perhaps the most evenly-balanced of this round’s opening fixtures.
How evenly balanced? Stats Perform data showed the two antagonists dead even at 1.2 expected goals each, with Orlando generally superior in the run of play but forced to sweat until the final whistle thanks to imprecision in both penalty boxes.
“We created many options, could have been probably more precise and opened the game earlier,” said OCSC head coach Oscar Pareja postgame. “And they may have a couple of goals too. But the game is tight, especially against Nashville, they place a lot of players in their final third and it was difficult for us to break it open. But it is a task for us to accomplish, just be more precise in that last part of the field so we don't need to suffer that much.”
Taut, cagey, physical: This was the kind of game veteran, defensive-minded Nashville would seemingly have wanted to unfold in this situation. And perhaps they’d be smiling on their flight back to Tennessee if Sam Surridge hadn’t somehow spurned the glorious chance presented to him by Mukhtar’s combination with Jacob Shaffelburg down their left flank in the 19th minute.
It was exactly that sort of moment Nashville had in mind when they paid Nottingham Forest a reported $6.5 million transfer fee for Surridge over the summer.
“I thought the very best chance in that first period was Sam’s opportunity to put us into the lead, probably against the run of play,” said Coyotes coach Gary Smith.
“Our main focus, of course, is trying to hit the back of the net more often. Is it a case of creating more? I would actually say it’s more a case of us being more clinical in those vital moments. Because against good sides you’re not going to be creating a hatful of chances.”
Considering their recent tournament experiences, most notably their Leagues Cup final heartbreak at the hands of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in August, NSC may have seen their ensuing punishment coming.
Unlikely hero
The identity of the adversary who put them to the sword was unexpected, however. Cartagena, half of Orlando’s impressive deep-midfield pivot alongside César Araújo, ranged forward to arrow a blistering banger into the top corner, just his third Lions goal in 38 appearances across all competitions since his arrival a year and a half ago. (Cartagena would later exit after feeling muscular tightness, leaving Pareja & Co. to watch and wait on his availability for Game 2.)
Even after that, Nashville carved out another inviting look as OCSC’s intensity flagged in the second half, this time via a Daniel Lovitz cross delivered right to the head of Teal Bunbury inside Orlando’s six-yard box, only for the substitute’s header to miss the target entirely.
It leaves them with a steeper hill to climb at GEODIS Park next Tuesday, Nov. 7 (9 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
“We had good opportunities,” said NSC defender Jack Maher. “And we’ve got to give credit to the guy that ended up scoring their goal. It was an unbelievable hit – one that I don’t think he’s going to do too often. But yeah, it’s a missed opportunity.”
Remarkably, this was the first regulation-time playoff win in Orlando’s MLS history, which dates back to their 2015 expansion campaign. Pareja characterized its jittery nature as part and parcel of his side’s collective growth when answering a reporter’s question in Spanish in his postgame press conference.
“Look, I think that those anxieties and everything are part of the maturation of the players, the team,” said the Colombian. “Those games make us grow because there is anxiety, because we want to win, it is tight. I think it is the growth and the opportunity that it gives. The game is about growing, they are growing. But that cannot be bought or imposed or even simulated, that is won there on the field … It is very important for us to win these types of games. It undoubtedly makes us better.”
In praise of El Pulpo
That said, salting it away despite the efforts of reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP Mukhtar required first the fingertips, then the outstretched left leg of Gallese, the Lions’ experienced Peruvian talisman, who featured in their fans’ large pregame tifo,
Such small margins also amplified the value of the noisy crowd of just under 20,000 who roared on OCSC, anchored by the supporters’ groups in “The Wall” behind the north goal.
“Pedro is a fantastic goalkeeper for us that always shows up when we need him the most, and you need that in a team,” said Pareja. “I’m happy to see Pedro on that level, and happy for the city, happy for the club, happy for the community.
“I hope the entire country saw them,” he noted in reference to the supporters, “because it was a great experience to see a crowd engaged in the game and giving us that much energy. They become a protagonist of the success of the team, and I was very, very pleased to see that.”
Smith and Nashville will need that and more on their home turf, too, if they hope to extend their season beyond next week.
