Atlanta United’s players said Friday they know that they can’t overlook an Orlando City team that is going through turmoil for the second consecutive season.
“This is an important game for us,” striker Josef Martinez said. “It doesn’t matter that they are going through a little bit of a bad moment in the league. We aren’t going to take that for granted and think that they aren’t one of the good teams.”
The teams will meet Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta United leads MLS with 34 points. Orlando City is at 19 points and below the red line, which it hasn’t finished above in its previous two seasons.
“We are going to try to take advantage of the fact that they are going through a tough moment,” midfielder Ezequiel Barco said.
The Lions thought they had a plan when they fired Adrian Heath and hired Jason Kreis two years ago. They let Kreis remake the roster in the offseason between 2017, when Orlando City missed the playoffs after a late swoon, and this season.
But a trade for Dom Dwyer last season and the additions of Justin Meram and Sacha Kljestan haven’t stopped Orlando City from losing seven consecutive games, a streak that started with a 2-1 loss to Atlanta United. That defeat snapped the Lions’ six-game win streak, a stretch built largely against some of the poorer teams in the league.
Even during the stretch there were warning signs. Orlando City regularly had to rally for wins. Those rallies stopped. The losses piled up, culminating in Kreis’ firing following a 3-0 defeat at Montreal, which was thought to be one of the worst teams in the league at the time. Kreis was let go June 15 and assistant Bobby Murphy named the interim coach.
That loss was followed by another loss to the Impact, this time at Orlando City. Murphy apologized to the fans after watching the team get outscored 5-0 in the two-game swing.
And, then things got worse.
Meram, acquired in a trade with Columbus, was quoted on prosoccerusa.com Thursday as receiving messages from fans saying that they wished he was dead. Meram, who has one goal this season, was granted a three-day leave by the club Friday. He will miss Saturday's game.
On Friday, Orlando City reportedly hired James O’Connor, who formerly led Louisville City, to be its third coach in three seasons. He played for Orlando City when it was a USL team. He has a 60-23-23 record at Louisville.
So, while Atlanta United is among the favorites to win the Supporters’ Shield this season, Orlando City is again trying to find its footing and make the playoffs for the first time. CEO Alex Leitao said the next coach needs to lead the team to the playoffs, and he needs to do it with the current roster.
“Sometimes when teams are struggling it’s hard to get a good read in the build up to the match, but they are a team who we weren’t able to beat both times at home last year,” Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said. “It’s a game we have to be fully prepared for. Orlando’s coach also said the responsibility of the game is on us.”
