This past weekend Charlotte FC defeated Orlando City SC on pens to force game three of the playoff series. This was a huge moment for the club as it marked the team's first-ever playoff "win" in the club's young history. Charlotte will now face Orlando away on Saturday with a chance to advance to the second round of the MLS playoffs. However, if the Crown wants to advance, they will need to improve in three major aspects of their game.
Goalscoring
The first aspect and most possibly the most important is that the Crown has got to find a way to score some goals. Orlando City has proven to be a thorn in the side of the Crown as they have held the team to zero goals in the last three meetings between the teams. Throughout the first two games of the series, the Crown has only managed to create a few quality goal opportunities. In the playoffs, this won’t be good enough if the club wants to advance. During game two we saw Patrick Agyemang make a huge difference in the attack by driving the ball at Orlando's backline and asserting his physical presence. Pat and the Crown's other attackers, such as Biel and Abada, will need to find a way to score some goals and help lead the Crown to the second round of the MLS playoffs.
Continued Defensive Prowess
The second key aspect of game three will be continuing to find a way to shut down Orlando's key players. Throughout game one, Orlando’s attack ran circles around the Crown, creating a multitude of opportunities which eventually led to them taking game one with a 2-0 win. During game two, the Crown did a really good job of limiting Orlando's attacking chances which was a big difference compared to game one. Eliminating players such as Facundo Torres and Martin Ojeda will be a huge task for the Crown. If they are able to limit their impact ont he game, it will help swing the momentum of game three into the Crowns favor.
Starting Off Strong
The third and final key aspect of game three will be how quickly the Crown will be able to start the game on Saturday. Since the third game is being hosted in Orlando, it’s safe to assume that the Orlando SC players and fans will come out with a large amount of energy. In my opinion, this played a key role in Orlando defeating the Crown during game one. The Crown will have to start the game quickly so that they can eliminate the crowd's energy and the player's energy. Orlando is going to come out fighting and the Crown will have to make sure that they are ready to fight as well. This will be a difficult task as this game will decide who is eliminated from the MLS playoffs. However, I believe that this team is up for the challenge and that there is no better team in the MLS suited for this game and the pressure that will come with it.
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