ORLANDO – Letting down 62,510 rabid fans was not something Adrian Heath had planned for.
And had Kaka not rescued his team with a dramatic, stoppage-time free kick, the Orlando City SC head coach went as far as to say a loss to New York City FC in their inaugural MLS match Sunday would have been a “travesty.”
An incident-filled game at a raucous, sold-out Citrus Bowl was headed for the ultimate letdown for the home crowd after Jason Kreis’ team struck against the run of play and looked set to snatch all three points as the game ran into stoppage time.
But Kaka buried a 20-yard free kick in the first minute of stoppage time to turn devastation to elation as the match ended in a 1-1 draw, leading Heath to salute the ranks of purple-clad fans after an enthralling game that left just about everyone amazed at the experience.
“I am absolutely delighted with the final score because it would have been a travesty if we hadn’t taken something out of the game,” Heath said in his postgame comments. “It was too good a day to end like that. It was the least the players deserved.
“But I am just so proud of everybody connected with the club for the way we fought back and got a point. Everybody put so much into this day, from the players to the fans, I didn’t want it to end.”
Kaka’s last-gasp equalizer – with the help of a big deflection off New York defender Jeb Brovsky – lifted a passionate home support that had kept up a non-stop barrage of noise from before kickoff to the final whistle.
And Heath, along with many of his players, was left shaking his head at the level of fervor and passion that poured down from all sides of the Bowl. The attendance was the second highest for a MLS inaugural game – behind only Los Angeles Galaxy’s 69,255 in 1996 – and the highest for a soccer event in Orlando, beating the 1994 World Cup games staged here.
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“It was something to see even before the game when we came out to warm up,” Heath said. “And it is something I will remember for the rest of my life. The supporters did us proud, and I am just so happy we got something to send them home happy at the end.”
Brazilian star Kaka said the reception of the crowd and then his goal was also one of the most memorable moments of even his storied career.
“It was a very special moment for me,” he said. “I so wanted to score the first goal for this team, and it was amazing to see the ball go in and hear the reaction. I have scored many goals in my career, but I put this one in a place of its own. It was very, very important.”
US international Brek Shea echoed the comments of his teammate and coach.
“That was an unbelievable crowd to play in front of,” Shea said. “To walk out and feel that level of noise, makes you feel you can’t get much more excited about the game. It’s definitely something to be proud of, to get something out of the game and to get that kind of atmosphere from your fans.”
