Adrian Heath can consider himself the master of the “super subs” after his late-game changes turned up trumps for Orlando City SC once again in Saturday's vital 1-0 road win over the Chicago Fire.
For the second game in a row, the Lions head coach called a full slate of replacements in the final stages, and all three combined for the 86th-minute winner at Toyota Park.
Last week it was Brek Shea paving the way for Bryan Rochez, and then Rochez helping to set up Adrian Winter’s clincher in the 3-1 romp over Sporting Kansas City.
This week the trio of Rochez, Shea and Darwin Ceren came on in the 71st and 81st minutes, and it was Shea feeding Ceren and Ceren setting up Rochez’s killer strike to claim all three points.
“It was good that all three subs were involved in the goal,” Heath admitted. “It’s always pleasing when you make changes and they pay off. All three of them gave us a bit of a lift at the right time.
“But more importantly, it was a great team effort from everybody. We were always going to have to pick something up on the road to give ourselves a chance, and we’ve done that tonight.”
It was Orlando’s first road win since June 6 – which, ironically, was also at Chicago – and it served to keep their playoff hopes intact. June 6 and 14 was also the last time the Lions chalked up back-to-back wins, and it was their first clean sheet since a 0-0 draw at home to Philadelphia on August 8.
“We wanted to keep it tight, and I thought we did that pretty well,” Heath insisted. “They had a lot of possession but I thought we created the more dangerous chances.
“We actually thought about starting Bryan because of the lift he gave us last week, and it turned out he did the same for us tonight. It was great to get Brek more time on the field and it was also good to have Darwin fit again, as we’re going to need everyone for these last four games.”
It was just the third time this season Heath was able to field an unchanged lineup. Even without star man Kaká for a third successive game, his team showed enough attacking spirit to make it six straight points and stay on the heels of Montreal for the final playoff spot.
The Impact hold the advantage, thanks to their three games in hand. But the Lions plan to push them to the very end.
“It is still in the hands of Montreal,” Heath admitted. “The only thing we can do is keep winning and keep the pressure on them and hopefully when they come to our place in a couple of weeks, there is still something riding on the game.”
Heath also had another reason for wanting to pick up points on the road.
“We had over 100 people here from our office and some of our supporters, so it was a great evening,” he added. “I’m just so pleased for them that we were able to win tonight.
“Now we have to go again in New York next week. This has given us a chance and, as I’ve said before, we’re going to keep fighting.”
