ORLANDO -- Adrian Heath insisted he was disappointed with his backline for two “soft” goals in Wednesday’s 2-2 home draw with Philadelphia Union.
But that didn’t stop the Orlando City SC head coach from expressing pleasure that Kevin Molino roared back with a point to prove as a second-half substitute.
The mixed bag of a game – going down 1-0, then taking the lead with two strikes in the space of three minutes, then conceding another sloppy goal – was echoed by most City players on a night when the team saw another five cards, including a late red for David Mateos.
“I am disappointed,” Heath admitted. “When we got in the lead I thought we would ease ourselves home. We had a lot of momentum [after going up 2-1] but we were second too many times in our box tonight and I thought we conceded two really poor goals.
“The cards were also disappointing. I haven’t seen Cristian’s [Higuita] but we will look at the one for Mateos and, if we can appeal it, we will.”
Molino’s performance proved to be the silver lining for Heath. After being left out of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Montreal, the Trinidadian international bounced back with a goal within 30 seconds of coming into the game.
“I don’t need to express my feelings about Kevin,” Heath added. “He is probably as talented as anyone in this club but I felt like I needed to shake things up after the Kansas City game, and he has responded well.
“Every time you go on the pitch, you have an opportunity to impress the coach, and he did that tonight. He has not sulked, he gave us some energy, and he has also given me an issue for the team at New York on Sunday.”
Molino agreed with his coach’s assessment.
“I thought we needed some energy and determination, and I just wanted to show some motivation,” he said. “Whether I start or whatever, I just want to do what I can to help us get some points.”
Despite Molino's key goal, Orlando City captain Káka admitted there was plenty of frustration -- both for himself for a missed first-half penalty kick and within the team for blowing a lead as well as picking up 10 cards in the span of five days.
“We thought we had given enough to win, so this is the feeling after the game,” the Brazilian said. “We played against a very good team who are top of our conference and we played a good game. There are just a few details that decided the game.
“Sometimes we don’t deserve the cards that we have been getting but this is something we must address within the club.”
