ORLANDO, Fla. -- Adrian Heath admitted his Orlando City SC team made it hard for referee Ted Unkel in a game of eight yellow cards and one red in the hard-fought and often tempestuous 1-1 draw with Eastern Conference rivals New York Red Bulls.
The Lions split the yellows with the visitors but also suffered the dismissal of Colombian midfielder Cristian Higuita for a straight red five minutes from the end, to leave the head coach concerned at the physical aspect of their play.
“It wasn’t an easy game for Ted to referee,” Heath said. “We have to be better with our composure. Too many times we gave the ref no alternative. I will have to look at the red card again, but in the current climate, if it looks like he left his feet, that’s going to be a problem.”
Heath was happy with his players’ performance, though, and believed they could well have edged it, with each of Cyle Larin, Kaká and Kevin Molino causing the Red Bulls’ backline – which boasted an immediate debut for ex-Orlando center back Aurelien Collin – repeated problems.
“I am actually disappointed for our players because I thought their effort warranted three points,” he insisted. “I thought we put them under a lot of pressure in the second half and [goalkeeper] Joe Bendik hardly had a save to make. It would have been a travesty if we hadn’t taken something out of the game.
“Our final ball has to be a bit better at times, but, on another night, Cyle might have had a couple of goals and we were just about to make a substitution to go for the win when we had the red card, and that completely changed our thinking.”
Mercurial midfielder Molino bagged his fourth goal of the season to underline his growing threat and comfort level in MLS after missing most of last season with a knee injury, and he was suitably upbeat about the Lions’ chances of making more progress this season.
“I am definitely feeling confident in my game right now,” he insisted. “Game by game it is just getting better and, having been out for nine months, I just need to focus on the kind of work I’ve done in the past, and this is the result.
“We’re not frustrated with the draw. We’re still just nine games into the season and we just need to keep working as we are and eventually we will be on an unbeaten run.”
