Player Ratings: New England Revolution at Montreal Impact

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 1-0 win over the Montreal Impact.

Bobby Shuttleworth – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6, Sean 6.5)
Skirted a couple of shaky moments, including the Di Vaio shot that squirted through and hugged the goal line. Made up for it by making some heady saves, including Di Vaio’s 82nd minute free kick. However, distribution remains an issue for the second straight week. (Brian) … Overcame a couple of miscues with some fantastic saves. Seems afraid to play the ball short to his defenders, however, which has been hurting the team’s possession game. (Sean)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Looked sharp on the left, and made some nice tackles inside the box; like the rest of his fellow defenders, sent a few aimless balls upfield that the Montreal midfielder were happy to take back. (Brian) … When he was in the back, made some strong plays defensively. Too slow to get back at times when he pushed forward, however, giving Montreal numerical advantages on a couple of their better opportunities. Found teammates on less than half of his throw-ins. (Sean)

Darrius Barnes – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Made a couple of plays inside the area at the 33rd and 56th minutes; good in the air and actually had a decent day with distribution (73%) (Brian) … Settled in after some shaky passing early to put in a solid defensive performance. Got forward in the 39th minute for a corner and helped set-up Bengtson’s weak effort on frame. (Sean)

A.J. Soares – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 5.5, Sean 7)
Overcame an anonymous performance in the rear to slip the game-winner through late; passing wasn’t sharp, and wasn’t particularly strong inside the area; made a nice run forward in the 24th minute before his passing let him down. (Brian) … Made some big last ditch clearances and blocks to help bail out his fellow defenders. Recovered well when Alston was caught forward. Good header on the game-winner. Only sub-par passing kept it from being a better showing. (Sean)

Ryan Guy – Average Rating: 5.75 (Brian 6, Sean 5.5)
Easily the most active defender, likely due to his inexperience; however, provided good cover for Barnes and Soares, and improved as the game progressed, and picked up the foul that led to Tierney’s game-winning cross. (Brian) … At times beaten two easily down the left flank, but effort was there and did well to earn the dangerous free kick leading to the game winner. (Sean)

Chris Tierney – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Struggled to get his crosses to teammates in the attacking third, but made the most of his 88th minute free kick; from the run of play, though, it was obvious that Tierney wasn’t in top form. (Brian) … Passing was subpar, but put in a dangerous free kick leading to the game winner. Made a couple of key plays defensively. (Sean)

Benny Feilhaber – Average Rating: 5.75 (Brian 5.5, Sean 6)
Made the passes he needed to, but struggled to find the trademark key pass through with Montreal winning the midfield battle; even so, helped the Revs’ efforts when they advanced. (Brian) … Misplayed a couple of passes in the offensive third, but overall was one of the few Revs to have a decent passing night. Also made some big plays defensively, particularly defending set pieces. (Sean)

Clyde Simms – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6.5, Sean 6)
Put out a number of fires in between the midfield and defending third; short passing game on point, as usual; provided a steadying presence even with Di Vaio lurking. (Brian) … Quietly had a very solid night with some important recoveries defensively. Few giveaways and had some good moments in transition, helping to spark counterattacks. (Sean)

Fernando Cardenas – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5)
Looked dangerous early with some nice runs, combined with Fagundez to create some decent chances, but stop me if you’ve heard this before: his finishing and decision making in the final third leave a lot to be desired. Squandered a fantastic chance in the 28th minute. (Brian) … With better finishing, should’ve had a goal. A couple of flashes of brilliance, but faded and final product was lacking. (Sean)

Diego Fagundez – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Played some good balls in the final third, passing was impressive (82.6%), but definitely seemed gassed after tracking back often on defense time after time. (Brian) … Connected well with Cardenas, but seemed a bit off after an early knock, despite strong passing accuracy. (Sean)

Jerry Bengtson – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5)
His hold up play was noticeably better this week, and tested Perkins with a pair of shots before the interval; didn’t get a ton of touches given that the Revs played so many numbers behind the ball. (Brian) … Some poor first touches let him down and went down under pressure a bit too easily at times. Wasn’t helped by a lack of numbers in support in the attack. (Sean)

(sub) Blair Gavin – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5)
Anonymous effort off the bench until he denied Arnaud’s open look following the 86th minute Di Vaio corner. (Brian) … Hard to believe he was on the field for 26 minutes with how little he saw of the ball, but made an important goal line clearance. (Sean)

(sub) Kelyn Rowe – Average Rating: 4.75 (Brian 4.5, Sean 5)
Primary effort was devoted to clock-killing in stoppage; made a couple of good passes inside, but didn’t add much to the attacking effort. (Brian) … Unable to make much of an impact off the bench. (Sean)

(sub) Dimitry Imbongo – Average Rating: 4.5 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4.5)
Obligatory wild miss in the 83rd minute; still lacks the refinement required to sharpen the team’s form going forward. (Brian) … Struggled to keep his footing and came nowhere near the target with his one shot. (Sean)

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