Game 2 jumps on us quickly this week, so let’s dive into the keys to the game:

Orlando City B keys:

Orlando City lost 1-0 to Tampa Bay Rowdies in week 1. They did not play particularly well.

The first key for OCB is to control the midfield. They consistently lost duels in the air and on the ground. They also failed to make quality interceptions of passes and dribbles.

The second key is to get the strikers and attacking midfielders into the game. The Lil’ Lions did pass the ball well during possession, however, failed in the final third, mustering just 3 shots, all of which were from outside the 18 yard box.

The final key is to find a way to free Michael Cox, who is a good forward, to control the central part of the final attacking third. If they free him up, he’ll do better than 1 shot and 13 touches.

Louisville City FC:

Coming off a disappointing 0-0 draw with St Louis, LCFC will be looking to get a win under their belt. They dominated the game as they always do, but failed to find the back of the net.  

This leads me into the first key to the game, which will be to find a goal from someone on LCFC. Hometown hero (who I played with for 4 years) Richard Ballard played a great, quality, game; hopefully he can answer that call.

The second key is to continue to dominate the midfield. All of our midfielders are solid players and seem to “click”, so it’s a big key to the game.

The final key to the game will be to find that out-and-out striker. What I mean by that is someone that is the playmaker up front. I think Lancaster and Ballard will do just fine in this role. But we need a go-to man to draw defenders out of position and then sneak a midfielder in the back and finish with a goal. Greats like Ronaldo (the Brazilian one, not the one with the good hair) and Totti did it all the time and were able to create opportunities. We need a striker who is feared and makes defenders worry even we he doesn’t have the ball.

Prediction: OCB 0-1 LCFC

I don’t think OCB has a strong enough team to hold LCFC if they play the same as they did against Rowdies. If Louisville plays against OCB like they did against St. Louis, I see no reason they can’t win. Granted, it is early in the season so these predictions are based on one performance. I think this will be a game changer for the season. If LCFC doesn’t win, we could be facing an uphill battle for the USL Regular season title.