This Saturday, Orlando City will face the Columbus Crew in their second matchup of the season. With only six games left in the year, points are becoming incredibly crucial to Orlando City’s playoff push. Currently, the team sits in the last slot in the Eastern Conference-- a win against the Crew would give them some much-needed security.
Despite their poor record this season, the Columbus Crew still have many of the weapons they used to be so successful last year. “They made the final last year,” Team Captain Kaká said after Thursday’s training. “They’re still very good. They are a team that likes to play everywhere, every time… So, we need to be aware.”
Defender Luke Boden agreed with his captain. When asked about whether the Crew’s standings would have any effect on their play, Boden said no. “We don’t look at things like that,” Boden said. “Columbus are a good team… any team can beat any team… Things turn around so quickly in MLS. You can’t really look at those things. And we’ve already played Columbus already and we know how good they are.”
The match comes at a crucial moment in the season. With Orlando City just one point ahead of both New England and D.C, the playoff race is tight. Orlando City will need a strong win at home to keep their hopes alive, especially before they go on a two-game road trip against D.C and Toronto. “Our focus is on getting better, to be confident to play against Columbus and win this game because it’s very important for us to win at home,” Kaká said. “It’s a very important moment for us... if we get that last sprint, we will make the playoffs.”
Kaká admitted that while the team certainly thinks about the playoffs, they don’t carry that pressure or anxiety with them on the field. “For sure, we think about the playoffs,” Kaká said. “But we don’t go on the field thinking about that. We go on the field thinking about winning, and win three points, and after that we will think about what is our position on the table.”
Orlando City will face off against the Columbus Crew on Saturday, September 17th. Kickoff is at 7:30pm at Camping World Stadium.
