In Kaka and Cyle Larin, Orlando City might already have the top-tier frontline they want

It had been coming. Two months after a sold out Citrus Bowl welcomed Orlando City into MLS, the Lions finally gave themselves something to truly celebrate in front of their own fans. Kaka scored the franchise’s first top-flight goal back in March and the Brazilian was instrumental in delivering its first home win at the sixth attempt, scoring and contributing an assist in a 4-0 thumping of the LA Galaxy.

This should have been the biggest shock of the 2015 season so far - expansion team dismantling the incumbent MLS Cup champions - but it didn’t really feel like it. Orlando had been threatening such a victory for quite some time, having lucked out in previous games at the Citrus Bowl. This time, however, everything aligned – with Kaka growing in influence and productivity in almost every match.

Indeed, the Brazilian designated player and franchise poster-boy was the driving force behind the win – and the driving force behind Orlando as a team in general – but the performance of Cyle Larin was just as eye-catching, if not quite as polished. The No1 pick of this year’s draft has four goals in six starting appearances this season (three in his last three), with his goalscoring display against the Galaxy arguably his best of the season. The second-half cameo of Martin Paterson, whose MLS career has been hindered from the off by a pre-season hamstring injury, was another positive for the Lions.

Many maintain that Orlando is just a top-level striker away from being play-off stick-ons in the East – with ‘Javier Hernandez to Florida’ now a staple of the MLS transfer gossip column – but with Larin settling into his new side so quickly, does Adrian Heath already have that player? Sure, there are still some rough edges to Larin’s game. There were times against LA when his inexperience shone through – like when he decided to shoot from 30 yards out, rather than make the most of a two-on-one situation following a loose backpass by Leonardo – but Larin is already making good on his obvious potential.

The impression made by Larin was in contrast to that of the LA Galaxy’s own promising, young striker Bradford Jamison IV. With Robbie Keane still out through injury the West coasters are struggling for attacking traction, as well as midfield structure following the departure of Marcelo Sarvas in the off-season. Bruce Arena admitted that his Galaxy side was “awful” in Florida, and while the MLS veteran might not truly care about regular season form until about July he must be concerned by the five-game winless run LA currently find themselves on. GR

NYCFC may have finally hit rock bottom

Last week, after defeat to a 10-man New York Red Bulls in the inaugural New York derby, David Villa claimed his team had hit “rock bottom” – a statement that frankly looked profoundly optimistic after half an hour of his team’s next game, with NYCFC 2-0 down at home and down to ten men against a rampant looking Chicago Fire attack.

Just as had happened a few weeks previously, the NYCFC defense had no answer for the pace of David Accam, and once again a foul on the speedy Chicago midfielder led to a red card. As the game drifted towards half-time NYCFC looked in disarray.

But if rock bottom is the point at which the only way is up, the events that followed suggested that just maybe, the first half of NYCFC v Chicago Fire on Friday 15 May 2015 may mark the moment when the expansion NYCFC team hit rock bottom, and when Villa in particular announced his arrival in New York.

Villa’s tenacity drove his team back into the game, and got his reward in injury time when, surrounded by Chicago defenders on the edge of the Fire box, he managed to set up Khiry Shelton for his first ever MLS goal – a toe-poked shot that found its way past the keeper and inside the far post.

And at the end of the first half it was Villa’s rasping drive that was parried only as far as Medhi Ballouchy, who continued an unlikely run as his team’s leading scorer by tucking away the rebound and giving NYC the unlikeliest of lifelines going into half-time.

Yet for all that New York fought hard in the second half, to set what Jason Kreis described as a benchmark for what they could achieve through commitment and effort, this was just as much a story of Chicago yet again squandering an advantage. Yet again they left a game they should have been long out of sight in, wondering how they’d dropped points.

A lack of ruthlessness in front of goal is the main problem – the Fire created numerous chances but seemed too relaxed in their finishing. Last season’s draw specialists are showing signs of being at it again, in a conference where the frontrunners tend not to make those sort of errors against the also-rans.

New York meanwhile, rode their luck at times – perhaps enjoying the distinct novelty of their being any luck to ride. And at the end it was apt that Shelton, who has been a willing and urgent runner from day one, should be the player who got them a symbolic result. NYC look a different side with Villa on the field as the focus and occasionally as an outlet for the team of relative strangers around him trying to find their bearings, but if there’s been a positive so far this season it’s been in the example of the hardworking younger players like Shelton and patrick Mullins, who’ve tried to take their opportunities to play with vigor.

Now to play themselves away from rock bottom. GP

Chad Barrett is not Obafemi Martins, but he can still play a role for the Sounders

Having scored his second in the Seattle Sounders’ Cascadia clash against Vancouver, Chad Barrett looked back at his teammates – arms outstretched, head nodding, lip upturned, almost as if to question why so much fuss had been made over Obafemi Martins’ absence. Who needs Martins? Well, in the longer term, Seattle, but Barrett offered a timely reminder of his worth as an MLS veteran by striking both goals in Seattle’s road win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

His second goal was particularly impressive, finding the far corner of the net with a cross-goal half-volley – capping a wonderful Seattle passing move which saw at least 20 exchanges made before the through ball was played forward to Barrett. It turns out the Sounders don’t necessarily need Martins or Dempsey to score goals – as great a revelation as that may be.

There is a certain snobbishness when it comes to public perception of Barrett. Sure, he’s not the most technically adept player and there is something rather cumbersome and unfashionable about his game, but the 30-year-old’s scoring record stands up reasonably well over the years – even taking into account the fairly dismal spell in New England. The guy even has an international cap to his name, so is he really as bad as has been made out recently?

Of course, Barrett is nowhere near the standard of someone like Martins – and the Sounders are a significantly better side with the Nigerian striker in the team. Yet the former might feel slightly aggrieved that he hasn’t been afforded more of a chance at Seattle since moving to the Pacific Northwest last year. Barrett was key to the Sounders’ US Open Cup run last season, but has had to make do with substitute cameos and sporadic appearances as a distinctly second-rate (maybe even third-rate) option in MLS.

But it wasn’t just Barrett’s goalscoring performance that provided a highlight for Sigi Schmid and the Sounders. Seattle held the Caps at arm’s length for much of the match, enjoying prolonged spells of possession that gave Schmid’s side a degree of shrewd game management that they had desperately lacked in the defeat to the Columbus Crew the week before. Seattle recognised that by closing down the space and sitting deep when faced with pressure, they could deny Vancouver the chance to break in behind at pace. It worked, with the Sounders comprehensive in victory. Stefan Frei, who was rarely bothered by Vancouver, even described the performance as Seattle’s best of the season.

Seattle now return back to CenturyLink Field after a three-game stretch on the road which gives their tally of 19 points from 10 fixtures a little extra distinction. Even without Martins – who is sidelined with a tibial contusion – the Sounders are a force in the West. They still have Barrett – and for all the derision and mocking – that’s not such a bad thing. GR

Dallas are maturing nicely

It might seem strange that the two games that might be described as bellwethers for the progress of FC Dallas under Oscar Pareja would not be games when their at times exhilarating attack swept all before it, but two 0-0 draws.

When Dallas exited the playoffs on away goals last year, they did so after a 1-1 draw at home against the Sounders, that was followed by a creditable 0-0 draw in Seattle where they shook the presumptive favorites up and demonstrated a tactical maturity to go with the speed and invention that the likes of Fabian Castillo and Mauro Diaz bring to the side.

And in a regular-season game against the visiting Red Bulls this weekend, Dallas met an opponent with something of a cerebral air about them these days, since the addition of coach Jesse Marsch and a new found tactical sophistication. But if we expected a full-on assault on the New York goal, and for the Red Bulls solely to bunker and counter smartly, what happened instead, from both sides, was something subtler, and made for one of the more entertaining and absorbing 0-0 draws in recent MLS memory.

Castillo in particular found himself nullified by some determined and concentrated marking by Red Bulls’ defenders, prompting Dallas to adjust their balance and work the ball in from other angles. Their tempo and pattern of play varied constantly as they looked for an advantage – the opening of the second half saw them swarm forward in numbers in a bid to overwhelm the Red Bulls around the outside, while later in the game, they were playing a more cautious game trying to draw New York out and get behind them that way.

But for a Felipe clearance off the line in the second half it might have worked, but it’s worth noting there were two teams contributing to the pattern of this game and the Red Bulls too demonstrated a growing sophistication in the way they paced themselves then looked to kick for home with three points in the final 15 minutes.

That final 15 minutes was a chess game in itself, as Pareja and Marsch appeared to be swapping substitutes at each other, determined not to be out-thought, let alone outfought, by their opposite number.

Neither prevailed, and for the Red Bulls that will go down as a decent point on the road. For Dallas though, the disappointment of not picking up a home win should be set against a performance where a young team were not found wanting for concentration and sophistication, and for showing several of the qualities that should see Dallas make the leap from playoff irritants to the likes of Seattle, to credible contenders. GP

Montreal could finally make real MLS impact with settled fixture run

Under ordinary circumstances a winless streak stretching well into May would have returned a familiar sense of disgruntlement and exasperation to the Montreal Impact this season. That streak has now been broken – rather shattered into a million pieces – following the 4-1 statement win over Real Salt Lake, underlining that the Impact’s campaign cannot be summed up by their current league position at the foot of the Eastern Conference, given their run all the way to the Concacaf Champions League final and continued assault on the Canadian Championship.

With the final of the latter competition not until August Montreal can finally settle into their MLS season – having played just six games up until this point. From 24 May, Klopas’ team will play four fixtures in just two weeks as they play catch up with the rest of the league. And there was certainly enough in the thumping of RSL – particular in a rampant opening 30 minutes during which they went 3-0 up – to hint that Montreal can make the most of the upcoming run of games.

Dilly Duka was exceptional, as were Ignacio Piatti and Andres Romero as the supply line to Dominic Oduro, but it was the performance of Scottish midfielder Callum Mallace that caught the eye most – especially considering the manner with which he dominated Kyle Beckerman (who was uncharacteristically sluggish) in the center of the pitch. In fact, the way Montreal imposed themselves all over the pitch was notable, scoring their first goal from a set-piece since 2013 when Laurent Ciman knocked Marco Donadel’s corner kick after just 18 minutes. The Impact are finally in a position to translate some of their CCL form into a domestic streak.

The outlook is less positive for Real Salt Lake. If Jeff Cassar thought his side had moved on from the 4-0 thumping at the hands of the New England Revolution last month, he was given a rude rebuttal at Stade Saputo. This was another red wedding for RSL after that defeat in Foxborough. Not even the Northern army suffered such annihilation twice.

RSL once boasted the strongest spine in MLS, but the identity that sustained them for their best years under Jason Kreis has now been compromised. Perhaps the biggest challenge for the club’s current coach will be finding a fitting role for Luis Gil, who could be the key to unlocking Salt Lake’s stuttering offense. The problem for Cassar is that although Gil is an innately creative player, he’s not necessarily a No10. So how does RSL build their team around a player that for all his undoubted promise, doesn’t have an obvious position? Maybe Cassar should ask Klopas on how to get the best out of a fluid, interchangeable frontline, because on the basis of Saturday’s game the Montreal coach is on to something. GR