ORLANDO, Fla. – Adrian Heath has presided over a period of almost unbroken success in his four-plus years with Orlando City SC, hence he is in new territory with his club looking to bounce back after Saturday’s 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Columbus Crew SC.
The Lions head coach had never seen his team suffer a three-goal defeat before, dating back to their time in USL, and the fact they looked like an expansion team for the first time this season against Crew SC could be cause for concern ahead of a big home clash with Toronto FC on Sunday (7 pm ET; Fox Sports 1 in US, TSN in Canada).
But just because his men were left exposed by the first-half sending off of right back Rafael Ramos and were fortunate to see a fourth Columbus goal chalked off for offside, Heath is not about to make any fundamental changes just seven games in to their MLS adventure.
“You take it on the chin and take what positives you can and move on,” he said in the wake of the weekend defeat. “I actually thought we had played ourselves back into the game and, even at 1-0 down, we looked the most likely to get the next goal. But when Rafa gets sent off, it changes the game completely.
“But in football, everything doesn’t always go your way. There are times when things go against you, and you can’t let it affect you, especially in the way Rafa did.”
Heath remains convinced that the Lions are still not far away from where they want to be in their inaugural season. They sit fifth in the Eastern Conference and a win against Toronto could conceivably put them in the top three.
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“We have had a decent start to the season,” Heath said. “That’s the best way to describe it. We hadn’t been outplayed before Saturday, and it’s important the guys keep their confidence. One game doesn’t mean anything in the context of the whole season.
“Now we just need to get a good week’s work under our belts and be ready to go again on Sunday. Nothing has changed of any significance.”
There is one thing Heath wanted to remind his players of, though, after two giveaways in their own penalty box led to two Columbus goals.
“Nobody wants to play football more than I do,” he said. “But there are times and places for it. Sometimes you just have to clear your lines and put the ball in Row Z!”
