ORLANDO – Call them stubborn, but Orlando City SC will still be going flat out for victory at the Philadelphia Union on Sunday (5 pm ET, MLS LIVE), even if their chances of reaching the 2015 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs are now officially "Mission Improbable."
The Lions need both a win and a New England loss – at New York City FC – plus a massive eight-goal swing in goal differential to stage the most unlikely of #DecisionDay turnarounds and snatch a postseason spot at the expense of the Revolution.
But, just because those odds are officially less than one percent, Orlando head coach Adrian Heath insists his men still have plenty to play for as they wrap up their inaugural regular season in MLS.
“First of all, we want to make it a club-record six wins in a row,” Heath said after training on Friday. “We can also be the first expansion team to pick up six road wins in our first year, so don’t tell my players there’s nothing to play for.
“We also owe it to our fantastic supporters to finish strong, so there is a lot of personal pride at stake and we will definitely be looking to take care of our business first and foremost on Sunday.”
Heath also revealed the team will have a staffer ready to relay info from the Revolution game directly to the bench in case things start to go their way.
“If anything happens, they will let us know,” he added. “But, as I have said to our boys, if they do us a favor, great. But it won’t make any difference if we don’t look after ourselves first, and that’s what the group have done really well in the last few weeks to win five in a row.
“We can only control what’s in front of us and I have no doubts we will be in for a tough game in Philly as they still have a lot of pride to play for and people are still evaluating what to do for next year.”
The Lions chief is still assessing his own first season at MLS level after six seasons in the USL ranks, but already knows his biggest takeaway from a breathless year of ups and downs, a season that took them to third in the Eastern Conference at one stage only to hit a wretched run of just one win in 11 games through July and August.
“When you look at the league this weekend, you realize there are still so many things to play for,” Heath explained. “One of the biggest things you take from it is that every point is so valuable and every goal for or against you is so important.
“If we didn’t have those two heavy defeats in August where we lost 4-0 and 5-0, we would still be right in it this weekend. And I still think that, with everybody fit, we have shown we would have been worthy of a playoff place.”
Looking back, Heath insists there is not much they would have done differently with the personnel available, and their ‘baptism of fire’ in MLS was largely what they expected.
“I don’t think anything has surprised us, as such,” he said. “But I think Jason Kreis at New York said it best. He has been in this league as player and coach a long time, and when he said it has been a really difficult year, it just highlights how tough a job it is to get a whole new team together and hit the ground running.
“There are so many things you need to do to get the group to grow together, to get to know the players in one-on-one terms and understand what buttons you need to push to get them going. It has been a difficult learning process but I think we have made big strides in the right direction.”
Heath is already looking ahead to year two in MLS and planning how he can mold his roster still further, with a few additions and the benefits of having newly-formed Orlando City B in the USL right on their doorstep. The team will pay special attention to the number of injuries they had this year and whether they over- or under-trained at times, as well as looking to add depth at key positions in midfield and defense.
“The good thing is that I now have a good relationship with this group and what makes them tick,” he said. “This will be huge moving forward. When you have 25 new players, it just takes time, but it has been a good learning process for me and I will be much the better for it next year.”
Goalkeeper Tally Hall is definitely out of their #DecisionDay game after successful surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee that will keep out for the rest of the year. Josh Ford will make his first start for the team, while backup striker Bryan Rochez is a doubt after picking up a knock in training.
Defender Rafael Ramos is fit again, however, after missing last week’s 2-1 win at home to New York City with the after-effects of concussion and both Kaká and Brek Shea are available after serving one-game suspensions last week.
