Ellis excellence papers over the cracks for Orlando City | OneFootball

Well, where do I even start? What with an unrelenting flurry of university assignments and losing access to this site for some unknown reason it's been a while since I've been able to produce any Orlando City-related content. And boy, have I missed a lot.

To put it bluntly, we have been absolutely abysmal so far this season. Languishing in 12th in the Eastern Conference, seemingly shipping five or six goals every other week, and still without a permanent head coach, missing out on the play-offs is probably the least of our worries right now.

But at half-time of last night's bottom-of-the-league clash with Philadelphia Union, it seemed like Martín Perelman's men might have turned a corner. The fruits of an incredibly productive opening 45 minutes, goals from Martín Ojeda and Griffin Dorsey meant that all we needed to do to see out just a fourth league win of the campaign was keep the current frontrunners for the wooden spoon at bay.

Sadly, that's easier said than done this season. Cancelling out Milan Iloski's 53rd-minute finish with a tap-in of his own, Duncan McGuire looked to have put us beyond reach twenty minutes from time. But that was before a quick-fire double from Cavan Sullivan and Ben Bender threatened yet another miserable night in Central Florida.

Make no mistake, Ojeda's 89th-minute winner does nothing to redeem a disastrous second-half performance from Orlando. If we have any designs of still making the play-offs or, rather alarmingly, defeating Atlanta United in just five days' time to progress to the semi-finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, then things have to change fast.

A star in the making

Let's start on a positive note. Justin Ellis was absolutely sensational during that first half.

Remarkably, the 19-year-old's two gorgeous lofted balls to send Ojeda bearing down on Andrew Rick's goal were not his most impressive contributions of the period. That came instead in the 45th minute, receiving possession on the edge of his own box before coolly weaving past multiple opposition players and launching the ball forward to initiate another counter-attack.

If not for Ojeda's wastefulness in front of goal, then we would be talking about a rookie with five goal contributions in six league appearances this season. And with the impending arrival of a certain FIFA World Cup-winning Frenchman who'll act as the perfect mentor, it's safe to assume that Ellis will get even better.

It's just a shame it's taken us this long to trust him with proper first-team minutes.

Oh no Tincho

It's not often you score a brace and still leave the field of play with egg on your face, but last night was one of those occasions for Martín Ojeda.

Deployed as a lone striker with Ellis to his right, the 27-year-old's confident penalty got the ball rolling for Orlando in the 18th minute. But by that point he should've already bagged himself a hat-trick. Likewise, his late header was just enough for all three points on the night, but only after he'd missed another guilt-edged opportunity to restore his team's two-goal lead at 3-2.

It goes without saying that Ojeda is our most talented player. If not for his outstanding form so far this season, we would almost certainly be rooted to the bottom of the table. But he just doesn't have the pace or composure in front of goal to lead the line on his own, especially when Ellis is forced out wide to accommodate him.

If Perelman wants to continue deploying a three-at-the-back formation, then the solution is obvious. Ellis must be our first-choice striker from now on with Ojeda and Antoine Griezmann, as soon as he arrives, supporting him as inside forwards.

The most unwanted of anniversaries

It's becoming increasingly difficult to articulate just how poor our defence has been this season. Shipping 37 goals already, we are well on track to set the unwanted record for the most goals ever conceded in single a Major Leaguer Soccer season. But this is hardly a new problem.

Unbelievably, today marks eleven whole months since we last recorded a league clean sheet. And with only two more opportunities to break this duck before the two-month mid-season break, it's looking very likely that we'll go an entire year without shutting out an opponent.

Given the huge turnover in defensive personnel over the off-season, I was willing to forgive a hiding or two early on as our new-look backline gelled. Things were, of course, meant to improve as soon as Robin Jansson returned from injury. But they just haven't.

Philadelphia's opening two goals last night were almost identical. It seems that our three-man defence is being coached to mark spaces and not opposition players, but only one of these can actually put the ball in the back of the net.

Unfortunately, it's pretty clear that we need even more time to gel. But ahead of a season-defining week, it seems we've run out.