ORLANDO, Fla.- Adrian Heath insisted his team had dropped two precious points, despite Pedro Ribeiro’s late rocket of a shot that earned a 2-2 draw with 10-man Columbus Crew SC on Saturday.
The Orlando City SC head coach had seen his team play Crew SC with a man advantage for more than 74 minutes and it was only Ribeiro’s 89th-minute bolt from the blue that finally broke through the stubborn rearguard of a Crew SC team that had taken the lead through Kei Kamara’s league-leading 10th goal of the season.
And Heath was left to rue the missed chances at 1-1 that could well have changed the course of a see-saw game. Forwards Cyle Larin and Carlos Rivas both flubbed one-on-one openings against goalkeeper Steve Clark, while Larin failed to make the most of two other promising opportunities. Almost every other outfield player managed at least one strike on Clark’s goal.
The Lions piled up 24 attempts on goal to the visitors’ nine and there was a growing air of frustration around the home team until Ribeiro’s late goal.
“We let too many glorious opportunities get away tonight and it cost us two points,” Heath said after the game. “Frankly, we should have won that game and I am disappointed to get only a point.
“The guys out there worked hard and it’s part and parcel of the game with younger players that they don’t always click. There was a bit of youth, a bit of trying too hard and a bit of lack of poise in the end, but sometimes you have to work smarter, not harder.”
Heath was prepared to concede his youthful lineup -- with almost half the starting eleven 23 or younger -- was outmaneuvered in front of goal for much of the time, with Clark making only three bonafide saves while Kamara and fellow Crew SC goalscorer Tony Tchani made the most of their opportunities.
“These kids are not the finished article, we know that,” the coach added. “They will be disappointed they haven’t taken advantage of some of those chances, but they will have more along the way.”
The Lions boss was thrilled for Ribeiro, though, who was seeing his first action since a hamstring injury curtailed his promising start to the season in early April.
“Pedro has worked so hard in the last few weeks to get back,” Heath admitted. “He is a really good finisher—we have already learned that this season. If we give him enough opportunities around the box, he is going to make them count. He is a good asset for us.”
Ribeiro admitted his sizzling strike almost didn’t happen as he latched on to a midfield giveaway in the middle of the Columbus half.
“I was actually going to dribble the ball at first,” he explained. “Then I saw the left back had kind of slipped and the other defenders dropped back. I just took a chance and fortunately it went in.
“That was certainly one of the most important goals I’ve scored and it’s probably up there with the best. There was also some pressure in coming back from the injury as you don’t really know what to expect, but it worked out OK in the end.”
Veteran midfielder Lewis Neal, who also saw his first minutes since missing eight games with a neck injury, paid tribute to the team’s never-say-die approach in the final 10 minutes.
“There is a lot of spirit and character here and we have shown that again,” he insisted. “We were all a bit frustrated there in the second half, but thankfully Pedro came up with a great finish and we got a result in the end.”
Simon Veness covers Orlando City SC for MLSsoccer.com.
