New England Soccer Today

Player Ratings: New England Revolution at Colorado Rapids

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 Brian O’Connell contributed ratings for the Revs 2-2 draw with Colorado.

Matt Reis – Average Rating: 3.75 (Brian 4, Sean 3.5)

Looked like a rookie on Kimura’s goal, and seemed to be emboldened by the thin air on his goal kicks. (Brian) … Made some big saves in the first half to keep the Rapids off the scoreboard, but much better is expected of Reis on the second goal. (Sean)

Chris Tierney – Average Rating: 3.5 (Brian 4, Sean 3)

Service was good, but was painfully exposed by Nyassi and Cummings. Hard to fault him with the Nyassi foul. (Brian) … Can’t afford to make tackles like that in the box. Crosses were inconsistent and passing was poorer than usual. (Sean)

Darrius Barnes – Average Rating: 5.75 (Brian 5, Sean 6.5)

Contained Nyassi well, and kept the box clean with smart defending. Man-marking was very good. (Brian) … Strong defending on the Rapids speedy forwards. Great header to get the ball to Mansally leading to the penalty kick. Good passing out of the back. (Sean)

A.J. Soares – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5)

Had a few shaky moments early, but settled down as the game rolled on. Paired pretty well with Barnes. (Brian) … Troubled by Colorado’s speed early, but held his own as the match went on. Passing wasn’t great. (Sean)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 4.75 (Brian 4.5, Sean 5)

Nearly let Mullan go by him early before Phelan bailed him out while Kimura had his way with him late. (Brian) … Had some nice runs forward, but runs out of ideas in the final third. Good throw-in leading to the first goal. Did well against Nyassi in the first half, but struggled a bit in the second half. (Sean)

Stephen McCarthy – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6, Sean 6.5)

Another complete game put together by the rookie center half; assisted on Feilhaber’s goal, decisive in the middle, and helped his back four with the speedy Colorado attack. (Brian) … Great flick-on in Feilhaber’s goal. Smart passing and did well aiding the defense. (Sean)

Shalrie Joseph – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)

Steered the attack, but failed to help the Revs in the possession department (31.5%). Of course, his penalty made it easy to forget his shortcomings. (Brian) … Kept the attack going with strong with his passing and pushing forward when needed but could’ve done better with some of his opportunities.  (Sean)

Pat Phelan – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5)

Curiously pushed up in the second half, but on the whole, put in work on the defensive end. (Brian) … Did well aiding the defense, but didn’t do much offensively. (Sean)

Benny Feilhaber – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)

Goal opened the scoring, service was good, but otherwise, didn’t find many attacking opportunities on the left. (Brian) … Good positioning for the goal. Didn’t see enough of the ball, but it was a product of playing on the left and the Revs general lack of possession. (Sean)

Zack Schilawski – Average Rating: 4.25 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4)

Quiet game for the striker/midfielder, who was caught offside twice and never threatened to score. (Brian) … Pushed back to help defend, but rarely saw the ball. Called offside (possibly incorrectly) on the one chance he had, but still couldn’t finish. (Sean)

Rajko Lekic – Average Rating: 3.25 (Brian 3, Sean 3.5)

Seemed to have no clue what his role was; drifted wide, fell back, and pretty much did everything but score, nevermind put a shot on net. (Brian) … Offside when there was no need to be. Poor touch let him down and gifted possession to Colorado on a few occasions. (Sean)

(sub) Franco Coria – Average Rating: 4.75 (Brian 4.5, Sean 5)

Made a few good tackles, but seemed somewhat slow against Cummings and Nyassi. (Brian) … Brought into a tough situation to try and secure a point and held his own. (Sean)

(sub) Sainey Nyassi – Average Rating: 3.75 (Brian 4, Sean 3.5)

Not an especially memorable performance; seemed out of sync with his teammates. (Brian) … Looked to provide a spark of the bench, but didn’t get anything going offensively. (Sean)

(sub) Kenny Mansally – Average Rating: 6.75 (Brian 7, Sean 6.5)

Firestarter for the undermanned Revs; wreaked havoc for the Rapids backs, and sharpened the Revs attack late while playing smart and drawing the penalty late. (Brian) … Did exactly what was asked coming off the bench: challenged the Rapids defense and earned several dangerous set pieces, including the penalty. (Sean)

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