FRISCO, Tex. – After a first half that sent Orlando City to the locker room down 2-0, head coach Adrian Heath made an intriguing pair of subs. The one that raised a few eyebrows was captain Kaka coming off for Servando Carrasco.
Heath said Kaka’s exit was due to a calf injury that hindered the Brazilian's ability to perform, and the coach wanted to play it safe with a quick turnaround ahead of Orlando's next game on Friday (8 pm ET vs. Houston Dynamo on UniMas). But the subs ended up being moot, as FC Dallas continued to pour it on for a 4-0 drubbing, on a night in which only the home team provided the fireworks.
“[This is] not the place to probably put your worst performance of the season in,” Heath said. “We thought we were going to have to be good to get anything from the game this evening, and we weren’t. Individually, collectively, second-best most of the evening.”
Kaka wasn’t the only one having a rough-go in the opening 45 minutes. The first goal scored by FC Dallas came off a Mauro Diaz corner kick in the 11th minute, as Orlando's Brek Shea lost Walker Zimmerman on the set piece and allowed the center back an open shot at net.
FC Dallas’ third goal of the night in the 61st minute was scored in similar fashion. This time, it was the club's other center back, Matt Hedges, who zipped through unmarked to meet a Diaz corner and hit a header past goalkeeper Joe Bendik.
“Two of their goals this evening were just free runs in the box,” said Heath. “We’re playing against a really good team. They’re not sitting at the top of the league for nothing.”
Shea played his first game in Frisco since featuring for FC Dallas back in 2012, but Monday's match was memorable for the wrong reasons.
“It was cool to be back, but it’s not a good night for us or me individually,” Shea said. “It’s just one of those nights – one you want to forget.”
Added Heath: “It’s concentration, or people not doing their job. You can dress it up however you want. Ultimately, it’s your man. You’ve got to mark him, and we didn’t do it well enough all evening."
Heath also commented after the game about the recently-opened secondary transfer window, stating how he needs a deeper squad as Orlando City sit just below the red line in the Eastern Conference.
“It can’t come quick enough. Let’s just say that,” said Heath. “We need to bring some bodies in, and hopefully we’re doing that in the next few weeks.”
As far as Orlando City's July 4th performance, Heath didn’t mince words about the lackluster showing.
“We got what we deserved, which was absolutely nothing out of the game,” Heath said.
