New England Soccer Today

Player Ratings: New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the New England Revolution players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Brian O’Connell and Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the New England Revolution’s 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire.

Matt Reis – Average Rating: 5.75 (Brian 5, Sean 6.5)
Made the saves he had to, but lucky that the post stopped efforts from Segares and Oduro. (Brian) … Can’t ask for much more than a shutout, though he had some help from the posts. Solid distribution and made the saves he needed to. (Sean)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating:  6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Good runs forward, and helped out the center backs when the Fire countered. Solid night. (Brian) … Solid, if unspectacular, performance. Passing was decent though crosses didn’t pan out. Until later in the match did well getting back to defend. (Sean)

AJ Soares – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6, Sean 6.5)
Solidified the rear by staying home and keeping Oduro and Nyarko honest for much of the match (Brian) … Mostly smart passing out of the back and good positioning and defending. (Sean)

Stephen McCarthy – Average Rating: 5.75 (Brian 6, Sean 5.5)
Won the aerial duel inside the defending third; passing wasn’t particularly crisp, but stood stout against the Fire’s speedy playmakers. (Brian) … Nice shot, but a few shaky moments defensively, including losing Dominic Oduro for his header off the post, and a few too many giveaways out of the back. (Sean)

Chris Tierney – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5)
Underwhelming from set pieces, but linked well with his teammates from the run of play. (Brian) … For the most part got the job done defensively, but a bad touch led to a chance for Patrick Nyarko and Gonzalo Segares beat him to a header on an early set piece, and his set pieces were poor. (Sean)

Fernando Cardenas  – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Linked with Moreno and Sene, but should’ve done better on his 42nd minute shot. (Brian) … Some nice runs, but passing was off at times including giveaway in his own half that led to Fire chance. (Sean)

Shalrie Joseph – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 5.5, Sean 7)
Efforts from attacking weren’t pretty, but did well to clog up the middle of the park. (Brian) … One of Joseph’s better performances this season, although effort attacking in the opponent’s box was a bit off. Got the job done defensively in Simms absence breaking up attacks. Smart distribution and played the type of game that’s come to be expected of the Revs captain. (Sean)

Benny Feilhaber – Average Rating: 6.5 (Brian 6, Sean 7)
Unsettling early touches give way to dynamic passes and smarter runs in the second half. (Brian) … Came alive late with some great passing, including setting up Rowe’s goal, and an excellent finish. (Sean)

Lee Nguyen – Average: 6.25 (Brian 6, Sean 6.5):
Two shots on the night were optimistic, but his passing continues to sharpen the attack. (Brian) … Worked hard to track back and passing was sharp. Some wasted speculative shots. (Sean)

Saer Sene – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6, Sean 6.5)
May have gone goalless, but put through some gorgeous passes; holding the ball still somewhat of an issue, though. (Brian) … Some nice passing, including a great through ball for Rowe’s first chance. Good work rate as always. (Sean)

Jose Moreno – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Hold up play noticeable, but only put a single shot on target. (Brian) … A few giveaways, but tracked back and worked hard, while being involved in some good Revs attacks. (Sean)

(sub) Kelyn Rowe – Average Rating: 7.75 (Brian 7, Sean 8.5)
A super sub in every sense of the word – gets two early chances and buries one of them, then links with Feilhaber for the insurance goal. So much for tired legs. (Brian) … Near perfect performance off the bench. Rowe’s passing was excellent, finishing was fantastic on his goal and he tracked back defensively. Only qualm is he probably should’ve done better with his first chance. (Sean)

(sub) Blake Brettschneider – Average Rating: N/A (Brian 4.5, Sean N/A)
Out of sync with his teammates coming on late; minimal contributions with the Revs protecting the lead. (Brian) … Not enough time or the right situation to make much of an impact. (Sean)

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