Player Ratings: New England Revolution at Philadelphia Union

Lee Nguyen was a big part of the little offense the Revolution had on Saturday. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com).

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, Sean Donahue, and Julian Cardillo contributed ratings for the New England Revolution’s 1-0 loss at the Philadelphia Union.

Bobby Shuttleworth – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5, Julian 6)
Stopped a couple of tough shots, looked strong off his line, nothing else he could’ve done on McInerney goal. (Brian) … Made a pair of good saves, but punched out some crosses he probably should’ve caught, leading to chances, didn’t look comfortable with the ball at his feet, and distribution could’ve been better. (Sean) … Came up with some important stops, but maybe should have been the one to organize the defense better on McInerny’s goal. (Julian)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 5.17 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5, Julian 5)
Matched well with Sheanon Williams, looked strong,  but for second straight week, didn’t involve himself too heavily in the attack. (Brian) … Solid defensively, but offered little going forward and turned the ball over on 55% of the throw-ins he took. (Sean) …  Looked reasonably comfortable on the left but didn’t venture forward as much as he could have. (Julian)

Jose Goncalves – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5, Julian 5)
Made some nice recoveries and tackles, but it looks like he gave way too much space to McInernery on the goal (on the replay, Rowe appears to look in his direction and point to McInerney). (Brian) … Lucky to be bailed out by Farrell after getting beaten far too easily by Keon Daniel in the box in the 74^th minute. Made a few saving tackles, but distribution wasn’t great and not as good a showing as his opening day performance. (Sean) … A few iffy tackles and some questionable decision making when on the ball, but his positioning was pretty good and he stopped alot of potentially dangerous situations from unfolding. (Julian)

A.J. Soares – Average Rating: 4.33 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4.5, Julian 4)
Allowed a dangerous 33rd minute Sheanon Williams throw-in to slup into the box; looked like he should’ve been marking McInerney on the goal. Not his best game. (Brian) … Caught in no man’s land on the goal and far too many long balls out of the back rather than keeping possession. Overall positioning wasn’t great. (Sean) …Positioning: mediocre. Passing out of the back: terrible. Way too many giveaways by the third-year pro. (Julian)

Andrew Farrell – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5, Julian 6)
Active game, but lost the ball far too often; good runs forward, but generally inconsistent with the ball. (Brian) … Like the rest of the defense, gave the ball away too cheaply, but made some nice defensive plays, including stopping Daniel after he beat Goncalves. (Sean) Decent positioning and didn’t linger on the ball as much as he has in the past. (Julian)

Lee Nguyen – Average Rating: 5.83 (Brian 6, Sean 6, Julian 5.5)
Best player on the field; pointed the attack in the right direction with a few keen passes, and made solid contributions defensively. (Brian) … One of the few players who created anything going forward though his set pieces still weren’t great. (Sean) … Great runs and passing out of midfield, though he sometimes stayed on the ball for far too long. (Julian)

Scott Caldwell – Average Rating: 5.33 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5, Julian 5.5)
Made some very clever passes, has the vision of veteran; a quietly consistent performance. (Brian) … Avoided rookie mistakes, but the Revolution needed him to take more risks and venture forward and he never proved to be the link they needed between the defense and the attack. (Sean) …  A nice outing for his first-ever appearance. Looked composed and often made the smart pass rather than the audacious one. Maybe a little bit too conservative at times, but it’s nice to know Caldwell can actually play at this level. (Julian)

Clyde Simms – Average Rating: 5.17 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5, Julian 5)
Aided his defensive teammates well, made the passes he needed to before coming off with what Heaps said was a “muscle” issue. (Brian) … Solid, as usual, defensively, but rarely completed a forward pass, which was part of the reason the Revolution were so lacking in the attack. (Sean) … Holding play was good, but he didn’t really do much to help on transitions from offense to defense. That may have contributed to the Revolution’s attack, which faded in and out of the game. (Julian)

Kelyn Rowe – Average Rating: 4.67 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4.5 Julian 5)
Kudos in order for the defensive work, but going forward, too many giveways and ambitious ideas; struggled in the elements. (Brian) … After a great game off the bench last week, his passing in the offensive third was poor and he gave the ball away far too often. No complaints on the effort, but too many turnovers. (Sean) … The creativity was good, but sometimes he rushed a play or went for the more complex action rather than opting for the simple pass. (Julian)

Juan Toja – Average Rating: 4.33 (Brian 4, Sean 4, Julian 5):
Forced off the ball too often; poor finish on his 78th minute shot, and never seemed to get on the same page with Bengtson. (Brian) … Went down far too easily at times, lucky to avoid a yellow card for persistent infringement, wasted one of the Revolution’s best chances and didn’t create much going forward. (Sean) … His movement off the ball, particularly his combination play with Nguyen, was solid. The finishing definitely needs some work. (Julian)

Jerry Bengtson – Average Rating: 5.17 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5, Julian 5)
Good holdup play, unfortunate to have his early shot kick-saved by McMath; stoppage time miss was still an incredible effort. (Brian) … Bengston’s on the Revolution for his finishing, but he needed to do much better with his early breakaway. (Sean) …The positioning was good, the finishing was not. Should have done better on the breakaway in the first half. (Julian)

(sub) Andy Dorman – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5, Julian 5)
Decent performance off the bench, made a few nice passes, and gave the attack some life late. (Brian) … Some solid touches off the bench, but Revolution didn’t play through him as much as they probably should have. (Sean) … Decent performance off the bench, made a few nice passes, and gave the attack some life late. (Julian)

(sub) Chris Tierney – Average Rating: 4.17 (Brian 4, Sean 4.5, Julian 4)
Generally inconsistent showing off the bench; looked rusty. (Brian) … Wasted a great late free kick and struggled to find teammates with his crosses. (Sean) …Looked tired and out of shape and his crossing was lackluster. (Julian)

(sub) Chad Barrett – Average Rating: 4.83 (Brian 5, Sean 5, Julian 4.5)
Effective off the bench, put together some passes, and involved himself in the late forays into the final third. (Brian) … Looked good in his very limited touches off the bench and probably should’ve come into the match earlier. (Sean) … Effective off the bench, put together some passes, and involved himself in the late forays into the final third. (Julian)

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