This Friday, Orlando City B will take on the Charleston Battery in Melbourne, seeking out their first win of the USL season. Despite their 2-1 loss this past weekend to the Wilmington Hammerheads, Head Coach Anthony Pulis is looking to enhance the strengths the team showed on Friday night.
“I thought it was a good performance until the final third,” Pulis said regarding Friday’s game. “There were a lot of positives to take from it.”
Orlando City B held the Hammerheads scoreless in the first half, but Wilmington scored early in the second half. Despite the equalizer from Andrew Ribiero, the Hammerheads found the back of the net again in 65’ minute, handing Orlando City B a devastating loss in their season opener.
But Coach Pulis and the rest of the team are looking forward to this week, and hoping to earn their first team win against a strong Charleston side. Coach Pulis says the most important aspect of this weekend’s game is scoring goals. “We’ve worked on our attacking play,” Coach Pulis said. “The focus so far has been on… the end products.”
Before Orlando City made the move to MLS, the Charleston Battery traveled to the Citrus Bowl numerous times. Never did they walk away with a win. But Coach Pulis says that Charleston will be a difficult opponent for Orlando City B. “I’ve played against them a few times over the years and they’re a really good USL club,” Coach Pulis said. “It’s gonna be a tough opponent for us, but I do think there are areas we can exploit.”
This is Orlando City B’s first year in the USL and last week was their first game in the league. Coach Pulis is hoping that some of the boys learned from their mistakes and will play a cleaner and stronger attacking game this weekend. Orlando City B takes on the Charleston Battery Friday, April 1st at the Titan Soccer Complex.
