New England Soccer Today

Player Ratings: New England Revolution vs. Toronto FC

Clyde Simms put in a solid performance in the Revs loss. (Photo: Kari Heistad)

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 Sean Donahue and Julian Cardillo contributed ratings for the New England Revolution’s 1-0 loss to Toronto FC.

Bobby Shuttleworth – Average Rating: 5.75 (Sean 5.5, Julian 6)
Perhaps could’ve done better on the goal, but otherwise made some good saves and commanded his box well on crosses. (Sean) … Little he could do on the goal, but still looked confident in his second straight appearance and made a few good saves. (Julian)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 5.5 (Sean 5.5, Julian 5.5)
Inconsistent night – made some great plays defensively and looked solid getting forward, but lost Luis Silva on the Toronto goal and missed an interception in the 30th minute after letting Ryan Johnson get behind him for a great opportunity. (Sean) … Good job getting forward, but his crossing and shooting were lackluster. Bailed out the defense with good tracking back and tackles. (Julian)

Stephen McCarthy – Average Rating: N/A
No time to make an impact before leaving with an injury.

A.J. Soares – Average Rating: 5.25 (Sean 5.5, Julian 5)
A few of his passes out of the back were intercepted, but for the most part, held his own in the back. (Sean) … Caught ball-watching on the give and go that led to the Toronto goal, but did well to get the ball out of danger almost every other time. (Julian)

Chris Tierney – Average Rating: 4.75 (Sean 5, Julian 4.5)
Set pieces were inconsistent – and for the most part, poor. Held his own defensively. (Sean) … Couldn’t get anything going on set pieces and got beaten for speed on the flank. His positioning was also off on too many occasions. (Julian)

Fernando Cardenas – Average: 4.25 (Sean 4.5, Julian 4)
Fairly invisible match. Didn’t have the same spark he’s had recently off the bench. (Sean) … Never really got involved enough in the attack. Didn’t see him use his speed or get into the thick of trying to score a goal. (Julian)

Benny Feilhaber – Average: 6 (Sean 5.5, Julian 6.5)
Some excellent passes in the attack from the run of play, included a great volleyed back heel leading to Joseph’s handball, but set pieces were inconsistent and often poor. Faded in and out of the game at times. (Sean) … Great runs out of midfield and solid passing. Fantastic back heel to find Joseph on the no-goal. (Julian)

Clyde Simms – Average Rating: 6.25 (Sean 6, Julian 6.5)
Typical smart passing and hard work defensively to aid the back four. Even managed to make some contributions in the final third with the Revs searching for the equalizer. (Sean) … Again, great job cleaning up messes in midfield. A little shaky when he got involved in the attack, but defensively he was solid. (Julian)

Lee Nguyen – Average Rating: 5.5 (Sean 5.5, Julian 5.5)
Some nice runs and solid passing, but his shooting, both from the run of play and a set piece was very poor. (Sean) … Not his best night as his passing was a tad off and he really couldn’t get involved in the attack. When he was involved in the attack, he shot painfully wide. (Julian)

Blake Brettschneider – Average Rating: 4.25 (Sean 4.5, Julian 4)
Really didn’t have many opportunities as the Revs struggled in the final third in the first half, but when he did get a sniff at the ball in the box, he couldn’t handle the pressure from Toronto. (Sean) … Just not in the right position to finish what could have been goals. (Julian)

Saer Sene – Average Rating: 5 (Sean 5, Julian 5)
Some great through balls, but Sene didn’t see enough of the ball and could still improve his finishing. (Sean) … Struggled to weight passes correctly and never did have a clear-cut chance at goal. (Julian)

(sub) Shalrie Joseph – Average Rating: 4.25 (Sean 4.5, Julian 4)
Struggled early at center back, though he eventually settled in. Passing was solid, including some nice through balls going forward. Pulled out some volleyball moves in attempt to fool the ref earning a deserved yellow card. (Sean) … Poor job in central defense but you can hardly blame him. On the no-goal, you definitely don’t want Shalrie to slap the ball into the net (Julian)

(sub) Jerry Bengston – Average Rating: 5.25 (Sean 5, Julian 5.5)
Solid header on the late corner kick, but positioning was odd as he was all over the field when the Revs needed a target up top. (Sean) … Couldn’t really make much of a mark, but good job to set up plays around the penalty area. (Julian)

(sub) Diego Fagundez – Average Rating: 5 (Sean 5, Julian 5)
Effort was there to boost the attack and had a couple of nice passes, but overall the Revs struggled to get much going offensively, leaving him without many chances in the final third. (Sean) … Not enough to get involved in attack. He was pushed out way too far on the flank. (Julian)

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