ORLANDO, Fla.—As Orlando City SC heads into Friday night’s matchup with New York City FC (7 pm ET, UniMás), the battle for a spot in the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs is most certainly still alive in the hearts and minds of Adrian Heath’s men.
They know with complete clarity only a victory will be enough, that a defeat would open the door to New York leap-frogging them in the standings during the final week of regular-season competition.
The twin dilemma certainly offers plenty of edge as Orlando close their home campaign in the same way they started, with a high-profile showdown against the men in sky blue.
“When people say there is not much on the line in this system, I’m not sure they know what they’re talking about,” Heath said. “There is plenty at stake for both teams here, both in terms of getting a result and in players keeping their jobs.
“The way player contracts are structured, players are playing for their futures every game, and that’s real pressure. And, as for having nothing to play for, if you ask New York’s players, I’m sure they feel they have everything to play for with the chance to finish above us.”
Luke Boden will be tasked with holding down the left side of defense following the suspension of Brek Shea and, having felt the ups and downs of life in the Football League in England, he can definitely perceive the stakes in Friday’s game.
“Just because there’s no promotion and relegation, as a professional athlete you want to finish as high as you can,” Boden said. “We’re going for a playoff spot and that means us winning these last two games, come what may. We have great pride in what we do, whether Montreal win their next game or not.
“The fact we’re playing the other expansion team again definitely adds to it. We need to win against them and obviously they want to stop us. They’re going to come firing on all cylinders and we have to stop them.”
The do-or-die mantra has been a common theme among Orlando’s players all week, with veteran French defender Aurelien Collin and rookie striker Cyle Larin equally insistent the team’s conviction of their postseason potential is strong.
“People outside the team might not think it, but the team is totally focused on the playoffs,” Collin said. “And there is also the matter that we want to show we’re better than New York. It is the same for them. We have to be extra focused on ourselves to be the best we can, as we have for the past month and a half.”
Said Larin: “This feels like a playoff game in itself. We have to win, it’s the only thing we can do and hope it goes to the next weekend.”
Heath stressed the one-game focus on Friday night but admits he would love to take everything to the final week of the season, which can only happen if Orlando collect three points against New York and the Impact fail to win at New England on Saturday.
With a potential crowd of 40,000 – which would take their two home fixtures against Jason Kreis’ men to a whopping 100,000-plus in total – the Lions' head coach knows the pressure will be the most intense they have felt in their inaugural league campaign. Yet four successive weeks of must-win games have put them in good stead.
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“We’re already had that first game against New York, with 62,000 here, and the last game against Montreal that gave us a genuine taste of a playoff atmosphere,” Heath said. “Now we have to do it when it counts most. It is a big test for everyone, including the coaches, but I’m confident we can handle it.”
Orlando will be without Rafael Ramos, still suffering the after-effects of a head injury early in the Montreal game, which means Heath has to replace the young Portuguese right back in addition to Shea and suspended skipper Kaká (yellow-card accumulation).
Boden will be the replacement for Shea, while either Lewis Neal or Darwin Ceren will take over Kaká’s No.10 role.
Heath will not make up his mind until he sees if Ceren is fully recovered from midweek international duty with El Salvador. He also has to decide between Corey Ashe and Seb Hines for the Ramos slot in defense, with David Mateos fit again to partner Collin in the middle.
