ORLANDO – It was a disappointing end to the stretch away from home for Charlotte FC. Head coach Miguel Ramírez describes how he saw it.
“In the first half, we were not actuated in the last line. Danny and Karol were not actuated in helping us deliver the game over there [Orlando’s side of the pitch]. But with the time they were improving and we were controlling Orlando more. We even had two or three chances in the first half.
“The first goal is one fullback who is arriving in the box and they had extra bodies that we couldn’t defend. Of course, they have the quality to win the 1 v 1s, this kind of duals, they have very good players for that.
"I changed Titi to have more leg in the middle and be able to cover more space. Ben missing some quality but has more legs. And it worked. I believe we deserve to at least tie the game, they didn’t shoot once in the second half. They weren’t even in our half, we were in theirs most of the time
“But we couldn’t score and that’s it.”
The second goal Orlando City scored was practically a gift when a corner in favor of Charlotte ended up in a wide-open scoring chance for the Lions.
“Usually, we have three players out of the box, ready for the counterattack or for the second ball or whatever,” said Ramírez on what is normally instructed for corners.
CLTFC defender Jaylin Lindsey described what went wrong from the on-the-field perspective.
“I think in the back we got mixed up with some different roles and these are the type of moments that we have build and learn from. I don’t think all of us were on the same page, that’s on us as players.
“The coaching staff puts in a lot of hours and works to give us tactics to follow as our roles and everyone has to follow their role. To let a goal in like that is devastating, especially for me, so that’s just on the players.”
However, the team did manage to bounce back from the deflating goal with an improved second-half performance. Lindsey shares what Ramírez said to reinvigorate his team.
“Miguel got us all together and talked about fighting for each other, everyone single one of us. Because we are a family... we have to come together in certain moments when we are at rock bottom, down two zero away from home. We have to figure that stuff out together, fight for each other, and fight as a group.”
The away stretch didn’t go as planned but Lindsey shares it was filled with valuable, early lessons that the team can take and learn from for the rest of the season.
“This whole month playing away from home has been a big lesson for all of us. It’s our first couple trips in a row when we are away from home, we aren’t laying in our beds the night before. It’s something as a team, especially starting out, it’s something we have to learn.
"As much as it sucks to only come away with a point... this is just a big learning lesson. There are a lot of things to learn from, we learned a lot about dealing with adversity, dealing with other fans, not eating our own food, and staying in a hotel... We are back at home this Saturday and I think that will give us a boost of confidence moving forward. I think we are all excited for Saturday and hopefully we can get more results moving forward."
