During Orlando City B’s last game against the top seeded Louisville City FC, Lions’ striker Michael Cox came alive. His two goals in the game propelled OCB to a 3-0 win and continued their 11-game unbeaten run for yet another week.
After coming off a 2016 season where he led OCB in scoring, Cox struggled out the gate to begin the season. A string of injuries and players like Albert Dikwa and Hadji Barry playing well, made it difficult for Cox to find a rhythm in the team. Now, the 6’2” striker has been a force to be reckoned with the last two matches, and his coaches and teammates have taken notice.
“That was the old Michael Cox tonight,” Head Coach Anthony Pulis said, “I think that’s the Coxy that we saw last year, which we’ve been craving to see this year and for whatever reason we haven’t. I said that to him as he came off, that was the level, that’s the standard that we expect from him. Because if he plays like that every game, the boy can play. He’s got everything, and it’s seeing if he can now do that consistently over the last few games that we have remaining.”
After playing 86 minutes against Ottawa in a 3-0 win at home, Cox was given the next game to rest, before coming out against Louisville on the road and scoring two incredible goals from very tough angles.
Striker Hadji Barry praised Cox after OCB’s win over Ottawa, speaking of his big physical presence.
“It’s great having a striking partner who’s bigger, who can challenge those balls and everybody around him can count on getting those second balls.”
On Saturday in Louisville, Cox took up more of a finisher role. Rather than playing as the prototypical hold-up play striker, Cox used his speed and agility to beat defenders to the ball on the run and finish two of his chances within a 15 minute span.
For Cox and OCB, his good run of form is coming just at the right time for the USL side. With only seven matches remaining, the team will need to keep their run going in order to hold their spot in the playoff race.
