My day is ruined and my disappointment is immeasurable. Orange County were knocked out of the Open Cup on Wednesday night to a familiar opponent. It is not uncommon for Orange County to exit out of this tournament. It is not uncommon for Orange County to play in frustrating games at home when it matters.
This was certainly a game that Orange County was capable of winning and the post match on paper resembles that as well. Orange County finished the match with 61% of the possession and with more shots on goal but still was only able to get a single goal in 120 minutes of play. There is a good team hidden away somewhere but unfortunately the issues that were expected reared its ugly head at an inopportune time.
FIRST HALF
Orange County’s lineup for its second Open Cup match was a healthy balance of young and experienced players. Mo War would actually switch sides to the left back position and would join a backline of Tubbs, Brewitt and Benalcazar. This would play in front of Alex Rando who has now started in 6 consecutive games. The midfield is where some new faces would see the pitch. Alongside Partida, Palomino and Hegardt saw youngster Efren Solis. The former Academy product slotted in the middle of the field. Up top was Lyam MacKinnon and Yaniv Bazini. They would match up against a similarly experienced Phoenix side with some differences from the last time they faced them.
Orange County held the ball for long stretches of time but Phoenix was able to greatly limit the number of dangerous chances. They would do so by playing a high line and by committing a ton of fouls. This will be a common theme throughout this game. Phoenix in the first half of the game committed 11 fouls and they were at opportune times. One of the underrated strengths of OC was their ability to limit big opportunities for the most part. So the shock of it when a back pass to Rando gets by him and was tapped in by Studdenhofft to make it 0-1 to Phoenix in the 35th minute was very real.
Orange County was going to have to score a goal anyway in the tournament game but now that would be doubly important. They would get shots on goal on Phoenix keeper Rakovsky with Hegardt and Bazini both forcing saves but a very pedestrian first half meant OC would go into the break down one.
SECOND HALF
If there is ever a team that OC has a hard time with in any shape of it that is Phoenix. With good reason too as they are the active club with the most amount of matchups with Orange County. This includes a number of high profile playoff matches too. In 2018 these two clubs met in the Western Conference Final and Phoenix won that one. In 2023, Western Conference Semifinals it was Phoenix who would open the scoring on an open net tap and they would win that game too. So the pressure was on Orange County to compete just for a mentality standpoint.
They would essentially do the same thing in the first half with Phoenix playing high up the pitch and Orange County looking to play from the back. They almost got burned a second time but Rando would come up with a big save in the 76’ minute. Coming on as a sub in the second half would be Ousmane Sylla and he immediately would make an offensive impact. It would be Sylla who would finally get OC on the board with a nice link up play with Bazini and would drive down the middle and tie the match in the 86’ minute. This was the breakthrough but it was a bit shocking at how little offense was generated. Phoenix almost scored a game winner at the dying moments but Rando would make a big stop. OC had answered back and now had 30 more minutes.
EXTRA TIME
Orange County and Phoenix would now play for a second time needing extra minutes and it would be the visitors who would quickly take the life out of the stadium when Vukovic would rise for an unmarked header off a corner in the 96’ minute. Vukovic would get pushed out of the pile and then it was his trailing run behind the pile that left him unmarked right in the middle of it. Ousmane Sylla would nearly find the equalizer in the dying minutes of the match but his effort went inches past the far post. Orange County would be eliminated from the Open Cup in the second round.
OVERVIEW
This much I do know. Alex Rando should not be given the blame for this loss. He is the reason that Phoenix did not score 3 goals tonight. For as much as the defensive unit has been quite good all year, tonight was not one of those nights with a lot of unforced errors. It would unfortunately be Rando’s mistake that would lead to the first goal. They also gave up their first goal off a set piece and it was a missed mark. Even though the offense has scored in every game this season, they are doing so at a very low rate of chances. Ousmane Sylla was the best player on offense and he was not even the starter; and he is a midfielder. The Orange County goal Wednesday night happened because of direct play towards the goal. The goals that are being scored have come in a variety of ways but they need just a bit more.
editor: Don’t mis our friend Cesar Tadeo’s match review in Espanol published earlier today. Producer Andy doesn’t speak Spanish either, but his browser easily translates it.