Player Ratings: New England Revolution vs. Toronto FC

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 New England Revolution’s 2-2 draw with Toronto FC.

Bobby Shuttleworth – Average Rating:  5.25 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5)
Aside from some booming kicks upfield, his passing was subpar; still struggles to organize his defenders. (Brian) … Defense left him out to dry on both goals. Made a good save on Soolsma shortly after his goal, but otherwise nothing spectacular. Passing was poor. (Sean)

Chris Tierney – Average Rating:  4.25 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4)
Needless second yellow; otherwise, played within himself on the wing, and linked with Joseph and Zerka well. (Brian) … Caught on the ball in the box, leading to a dangerous Toronto chance. Red card at the end could’ve been avoided and service and set pieces were inconsistent. Passing was decent. (Sean)

Franco Coria – Average: 3. (Brian 3, Sean 3)
Mailed in another indifferent effort; beaten in transition too many times to count. “Exposed” is too kind a word to describe his performance. (Brian) … Beaten to the endline on the first goal, in no man’s land on the second goal, and another disappointing performance overall. (Sean)

Darrius Barnes – Average: 3.75 (Brian 4, Sean 3.5)
Beaten on the Soolsma goal, and looked slow when Toronto’s playmakers attacked inside the area. (Brian) … Beaten to the ball on the first goal and went for the ball – and missed – on the second goal, allowing Koevermans to sneak in at the far post. A few good plays and solid passing, but a night to forget for Barnes. (Sean)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 4 (Brian 4, Sean 4)
Slow on the counterattack, and although his speed bailed him out from time to time, Plata was too much handle. (Brian) … Allowed Avila too much space to line up his cross on the second goal and jogged back when he probably could’ve aided the defense on the first goal. Had some problems containing the speedy Plata. (Sean)

Ryan Guy – Average Rating: 5.75 (Brian 6, Sean 5.5)
Factored into the attack often with good passes and nice runs, and looked dangerous in the attacking third. (Brian) … Particularly effective in the first half, combining well in the attack. Faded a bit in the second period. (Sean)

Benny Feilhaber – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Although there were times when he took too many touches, you can’t criticize him for his passing, which led to both Revolution goals. (Brian) … Tried to do too much on his own rather than passing at times and giveaways led to some counterattacks, but made up for it with two great assists. (Sean)

Shalrie Joseph – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Spread the ball amongst his teammates effectively and resisted the temptation to do everything at once; showed flashes of the offensive linchpin he was a few years ago. (Brian) … Lowlight was failing to handle a throw from Shuttelworth, but otherwise passing was good and aided the defense well at times, including a saving tackle on Plata when Alston was beat. Doesn’t seem to cover as much ground as he did in the first half of the season. (Sean)

Monsef Zerka – Average Rating: 6.75 (Brian 6.5, Sean 7)
Finish on the first goal was world-class; even without it, the Moroccan had one of his best performances of the season by playing plenty of good passes to his teammates. (Brian.) Man of the match. Great goal and constantly involved in the attack, creating several dangerous chances. Fantastic off the ball movement. (Sean)

Milton Caraglio – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Threatened all afternoon, held the ball up well, and made himself a target in and around the area. An attacking force for much for much of the afternoon. (Brian) … Too willing to settle for long shots early, but good positioning for the goal and active up top. Showed his athleticism on the offside bicycle kick goal, but also showed a lack of awareness with an onside Feilhaber behind him. (Sean)

Rajko Lekic – Average Rating: 4.25 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4)
Predictably rusty in his first start since early September; failed to get a hold of any balls in his area and was pretty much a no-show on the attack. (Brian) … Struggled to make an impact and when he did get the ball his passing was poor. (Sean)

(sub) Zack Schilawski – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 5, Sean 5)
Added some life to the attack off the bench with some nice dribbles; would’ve liked to have seen some more effort off the ball. (Brian) … Nothing spectacular, but made smart decisions when he had the ball. (Sean)

(sub) Kenny Mansally – Average Rating: N/A
Failed to make an impact as a late sub. (Brian)

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