Player Ratings: New England Revolution vs. D.C. United

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 2-1 loss vs. D.C. United.

Matt Reis – Average Rating: 6.75 (Brian 6.5, Sean 7)
Bailed out the D on a couple of big saves in the first half. Almost single-handedly kept it a close match from start to finish. (Brian) … A pair of great saves early and dealt well with some difficult back passes. Little he could’ve done about the goals. (Sean)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Decent performance to keep DeLeon quiet for stretches. But when it mattered most – final 10 minutes – DeLeon burned him. (Brian) … Drawn out of position on the winning goal, but otherwise fairly solid. A few nice runs forward. (Sean)

AJ Soares – Average Rating: 4.75 (Brian 4.5, Sean 5)
Perhaps last week’s foul on Blas Perez was on his mind when Wolff outjumped him on Willis’ long ball that led to the goal. We may never know, but it was not his best night, even without that play. (Brian) … Beaten by Josh Wolff to Joe Willis’ long clearance, leading to D.C.’s winning goal. A few too many risky and intercepted passes out of the back. (Sean)

Stephen McCarthy – Average Rating: 4.75 (Brian 4.5, Sean 5)
Tough night for the converted CB. Left out to dry on the Pontius goal, and struggled to connect on his passes (54% success rate). (Brian) … Some sloppy passing out of the back and beaten by Pontius, but otherwise solid defensively. (Sean)

Chris Tierney – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
His free kicks in the 28th and 34th minutes nearly put the Revs back on top. Picked his spots well and played good passes. (Brian) … Completed just 60% of his passes, but had some great free kicks and strong runs forward. (Sean)

Ryan Guy – Average Rating: 4 (Brian 4, Sean 4)
Never seemed to find his rhythm and became a liability in the defending third. It was pretty much an anti-Guy performance. (Brian) … Weak performance by Guy. One good cross, but otherwise struggled to make an impact on the game and passing accuracy was 54%. (Sean)

Kelyn Rowe – Average Rating: 4.25 (Brian 4, Sean 4.5)
Continued to take speculative shots and simply do too much. Had some good ideas, but lacked the execution to see them through. (Brian) …Too many flubbed long shots when he had better options. Played a bit too slow. (Sean)

Clyde Simms – Average Rating: 5.75 (Brian 5.5, Sean 6)
Moved the ball well, found teammates often, and tried to organize without Joseph available. Only blemish was lax marking on DeRosario’s bike assist. (Brian) … Lost Dwayne De Rosario on the equalizing goal, but otherwise a typically solid performance from Simms. (Sean)

Lee Nguyen – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Created chances, connected with teammates, and cleared Russell header off the line in the 22nd minute. Never looked like a guy who needed a pre-match IV to make the starting XI. (Brian) … Probably should’ve taken his close range shot first time, but it was an admirable performance from Nguyen. (Sean)

Saer Sene – Average Rating: 5.75 (Brian 5.5, Sean 6)
Found himself in good positions and doled out a perfect cross on the Moreno’s goal. But his finishing left something to be desired, no doubt. (Brian) … 91% passing and a great cross to set up Moreno’s goal, but needed better placement on his shots. (Sean)

Jose Moreno – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Nice finish on the Sene cross, but aside from that, looked like a player who’s still getting used to his new team. (Brian) … Great goal, but looked a bit rusty otherwise and completed just 56.5% of his passes. (Sean)

(sub) Benny Feilhaber – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Made some great passes and added spark to an attack that desperately needed it. (Brian) … Worked very hard off the bench. Some accurate long passes to set up attacks. (Sean)

(sub) Bjorn Runstrom – Average Rating: N/A
Not enough time to make an impact. (Sean)

(sub) Fernando Cardenas – Average Rating: N/A
Not enough time to make an impact. (Sean)

4 Comments

1. 

   rick sewall

   April 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm

   Derosario has really hurt the Revs especially when he headed the winning MLS Cup goal a few years ago. I think he beat Heaps to the ball . It was professionally inexcusable to give him any freedom on a corner kick. McCarthy should have had defensive support on the second DC goal. Where was Soares or anybody else? Again , another goal that may have have been prevented with some smart defensive play. Fielhaber played well, but he spoiled a good performance by getting a dumb yellow card in overtime. Overall the Revs played ok, but they have to learn to possess to ball in midfield.They should watch old videos of Carlos Valderamma.

   Reply
2. 

   Super Brentendo

   April 16, 2012 at 4:36 pm

   I feel like I’m the only person who thought Benny was totally unprepared for the game. He looked lost to me and let his emotions get the better of him (again). I thought Rowe, despite some poor shot selection, was doing a fairly good job of running the middle with Simms.

   And in regards to McCarthy, he’s played much better than I think anyone would have hoped. He had a hard time on the Pontius goal but I thought he was hung out to dry by Soares and Alston being WAY out of position. He’s getting way to much criticism for that goal (not from here but elsewhere he is just getting killed).

   Reply
3. 

   Brian

   April 16, 2012 at 8:24 pm

   I am generally underwhelmed by the performance of the backline thus far this season. I think these ratings are far too generous. I am not a fan of soares. His positioning is generally ok but he is emblematic of the intrinsic issue throughout, horrible wasted distribution by the back four. It is problematic. How can you maintain possession and build up when they often go so far awry or are simply aimless clearances or give aways? I actually believe their best game as a unit might have been the portland game when Shalrie was at cb for that very reason stability calmness and positioning and distribution with a purpose throughout.

   Reply
4. 

   rick sewall

   April 17, 2012 at 3:19 pm

   The rev back four play like a bunch of independent contractors. They should learn to play together as quickly as possible. It really is not that difficult.

   Reply