CHESTER, Pa. -- Adrian Heath didn’t take any solace that Orlando City SC controlled large swaths of Friday’s road game vs. the Philadelphia Union despite missing four starters.
Or that his team came right down the field after the Union’s 90th-minute go-ahead goal and would have tied the game if not for a monster save from Philly goalkeeper Andre Blake at the death.
No, when the final whistle blew on the Union’s 2-1 victory at Talen Energy Stadium, all the Orlando City head coach took from the game was bitter disappointment.
“I thought we were very naïve in certain parts of our play this evening,” Heath said. “If we want to achieve what we want to achieve this season, we have to be better when we have opportunities like we had tonight.”
Heath pointed to the two “cheap free kicks” his team allowed the Union to take with silly fouls as the most “naïve” part of their performance. Second-half sub Tranquillo Barnetta took both and scored on the second one to send Orlando home without any points.
But the Orlando coach didn’t blame the absence of defensive midfielder Cristian Higuita or defender Tommy Redding -- who joined standout attackers Brek Shea and Cyle Larin on the sideline -- for the defensive lapse.
And despite the team only finishing with three shots on target, Heath thought Orlando should have still found the back of the net beyond their 43rd-minute goal from Adrian Winter.
“I’m not sure that’s the reason,” Heath said of his injured and suspended players. “But I’m bitterly disappointed because we should have taken something out of this game.”
Because of all of the key absences, some people wondered why Heath only made two late subs, in the 89th minute. His response was that he “didn’t want to disrupt the shape of the team with the personnel we had.” The Orlando coach added that he liked reigning MLS Player of the Week Kaká playing the false 9 with Larin out, but he understands why some fans may question his formation and lineup decisions.
“After the game, when you lose, you always think, ‘Could we have done something different?’” Heath said. “Unfortunately, I’m not the master of hindsight. I can’t always predict what’s going to happen.
“Had we come away with something, then we probably would have been justified with the team we had. No doubt people will now say we should’ve had more forwards on the field.”
