ORLANDO, Fla. -- It's been a tough run of form at home for Orlando City lately.
After a home-opening win against the New York Red Bulls on Feb. 25, the Lions have been unable to secure a three-point performance at Exploria Stadium this season.
Following their 3-1 loss to D.C. United on Saturday night, head coach Oscar Pareja and his squad are left trying to find answers as they look to right the ship.
"Well, surely we need to find a reason and be clear on that at this point," Pareja said. "It's difficult to be very precise on it because the boys have been training well with courage, and style and formation has worked on these games where we have to go out and battle in different stadiums. Now, we came here at home and we don't get the opportunities or we don't get the job done and in front of our fans.
"For sure it's disappointing, but we have to keep pushing, and we have to find those answers of course."
In the course of their matches on the season at home, across all competitions, the Lions are 1-3-2 at Exploria Stadium, including their 1-1 draw against Tigres in the CONCACAF Champions League back on March 15.
The performances at home have been a sticking point for Pareja and his staff, especially with the inconsistency the team has faced early in the season. He understands how much the team wants to make their home fans happy, but is frustrated at the inability to find a solution.
“To win games, you have to score goals is the most logical response," he said, "When you go through these situations and you don’t have consistency and not much regularity. We win games on the road, but we come home in front of our fans and are not able to win.
"We confuse ourselves because we start looking for answers, and I harp over to my staff and players to breathe a little to fix the situation. But I raise my hand. I’m the coach and get paid to do this job. I see this team that’s very hardworking, and noble with a lot of energy. We just need continuity but we can’t get desperate because we know the importance of winning at home."
That importance is a feeling shared by the players as well. Forward Martín Ojeda, who had the assist on the Lions' lone goal Saturday night from Duncan McGuire, understands the complexity of the team's inconsistency but is still confident the team can improve their results going forward.
“It's complicated, right? We just came off having three points away, where those points count a little bit more and they're a little bit more difficult to come by and then we come back home and we weren't able to get it done," he said.
"I think everyone on the team has their things that they have to improve on, myself included. We will have to do that self-critiquing and analysis and it's just got to be better. So we take each day, we continue to improve and hopefully, we're able to touch that limit of perfection and bring it home in the future.”
Next match: Orlando City (3-3-2, 11 points) vs. LA Galaxy (1-4-3, 6 points)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (subscription required)
Radio: 96.9 The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM (Spanish)
