AS Roma Hand Out Some Lessons in Orlando
AS Roma completed their Winter break in Orlando this afternoon with a convincing 5-0 win over Orlando City before dashing to the airport to catch their flight back to Italy. In truth, it was a one sided affair from the moment Roma caught Orlando napping with a swift breakaway in the 2nd minute to take a 1-0 lead. A quick move turning defence into attack saw Miralem Pjanic feed forward Erik Manuel Lamela who finished neatly past Orlando keeper Miguel Gallardo.
The sell out crowd at Barker Family Stadium in Winter Park enjoyed watching US National Team star Michael Bradley (above right) and other well known names such as Francesco Totti (above left) and Danielle De Rossi in the Roma line up. Roma, currently lying 6th in Serie A, moved the ball well and it was no surprise when Lamela added his and his teams second goal in the 13th minute. Pjanic then netted Roma’s third goal in the 31st minute and Mattia Destro added a fourth in the 45th to give the Italian side a convincing 4-0 lead going into halftime.
The half time break gave both sides a chance to make some changes and to take a look at some fringe players. Youngsters Brian Fekete from the University of Tampa and Jonathan Mendoza from the U23 squad came on as substitutes for Orlando, while Roma gave playing time to keeper Bogdan Lobont, Marco Antonio De Mattos Filho and Panagiotis Tachtsidis. Roma’s dominance continued and the final goal of the game arrived in the 66th minute as Alessandro Florenzi struck to complete the 5-0 scoreline.
The final score was not really a surprise to Orlando City Head Coach Adrian Heath who said “It’s been a really good experience for everyone. It’s a huge eye-opener to what the next level of soccer is for everyone on the team. The match was great for our younger players to see what top level competition is.”
More photo’s from AS Roma’s Winter training at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
