ORLANDO, Fla. – Adrian Heath admits he is walking the fine line between long-term injuries and the need for a crucial three points at home to Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night (7:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
The Orlando City SC head coach is aware his team cannot afford back-to-back slip-ups following the disappointing 2-0 defeat at Montreal last Saturday if they are to maintain their playoff challenge.
But with five players carrying knocks and center back Aurelien Collin (pictured right) definitely out after straining a hamstring against the Impact, he is reluctant to press too hard with half the season still to play.
“The one good thing is the lads want to play,” Heath explained. “But what we have to measure is, are they going to get through these games or are there going to be long-term repercussions? And that’s what we have to work out between now and Wednesday evening.
“We have four or five of them that, in a perfect world, we would leave out for a week or 10 days, but they want to play and we want to win the game, and sometimes needs are a must.”
Heath has the advantage of a weekend off for players to recover before a US Open Cup challenge at home to Columbus on June 30, while the next league game is not until July 4 at Real Salt Lake.
The biggest question marks are midfielders Cristian Higuita and Lewis Neal. With City playing their fourth game in 10 days, the strain is beginning to become evident.
“I understand that players want to play,” Heath added. “But some of them are barely training during the week and just barely getting through games and, for the first time, it showed a little bit in Montreal. We have to be aware of that.”
The Lions boss does at least have fresh midfield backups in Carlos Rivas, Eric Avila and his own son, Harrison, while Seb Hines is a ready-made replacement for Collin, having played most of the second half at Montreal.
The team has also usually responded well to a defeat this season by putting in a positive performance, and they will be protecting a four-game unbeaten run in front of their own fans when the Rapids hit town.
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Heath is therefore anxious for his players to shake off their lackluster display in Montreal as quickly as possible.
“The most important thing now is that we maintain the confidence that the group got from the five games undefeated,” he insisted. “We didn’t do ourselves justice by our standards on Saturday, but we should still be positive.”
Another plus for Orlando is the confidence of young striker Cyle Larin, who has five goals in nine starts as well as a pair for Canada in their recent World Cup qualifying wins over Dominica.
“Good things come through hard work, and I feel I have been working hard,” Larin confirmed. “The World Cup games came at a good time for me and I feel I can carry on from there. But this is a big game for us now and three points would be important in keeping our league position.”
