photo: Paul Rudderow
Mark McKenzie and Jack Elliott put out the major fires as the Union grabbed a point in a 0-0 draw in New England. I tweeted after the match that it felt like a collective “six” for the Union and it feels like the ratings reflect a goalless draw where the offense just couldn’t find third gear.
Player ratings
Andre Blake – 7
Another solid night in the office for Blake against New England. Only forced to make one save on the night, but it was a good one in the 8th minute to deny Gustavo Bou. Comfortable controlling his area.
Ray Gaddis – 6
An average night for Ray who found himself on both sides of the back line over the course of the 90 minutes. Finished with four recoveries and four clearances, split evenly on the left and the right.
Jack Elliott – 7
Strong night for Elliott as he finished with 9 clearances and 6 recoveries. Brilliant sliding tackle in the 88th minute to deny Bou and preserve the shutout.
Mark McKenzie – 7
Enjoy it now Union fans, because McKenzie looks ready to make the jump to Europe more with each passing match. Cool and confident performance from the center back again on Thursday, finishing with 5 recoveries and 8 clearances (all inside the Union’s box). The sliding block on Penilla in the 10th minute is top class.
Matt Real – 6
Decent night on the left side for Real starting in place of Kai Wagner. Finished with 8 clearances and 5 recoveries. Forced Matt Turner into a good save with a tricky shot from distance early in the second half.
Jose Martinez – 6
Seven recoveries for Martinez who covered a ton of ground and mostly dealt with New England danger-man Bou. Good to see him make it through 90 minutes of a 0-0 defensive slog with no yellow card.
Alejandro Bedoya – 6
A very “Bedoya” performance from the captain. Consistent in possession and ran his socks off. Finished with one key pass and four recoveries.
Jamiro Monteiro – 6
Covered a ton of ground operating off the left side of the midfield and finished with a team high 12 recoveries. Still feels like he’s missing a bit of a creative spark in the final third.
Brenden Aaronson – 6
Somewhat quiet night for the youngster but still involved in most of the Union’s best offensive moves. Should have scored in the 54th minute with what ended up being the best chance of the game for the Union.
Sergio Santos – 5
Quiet night for Santos who never really found the game. Struggled to find the space to get behind the Revs back line and use his breakaway speed. Only completed 7 passes in more than an hour on the pitch.
Kacper Przybylko – 5
Still isn’t looking like 2019 Kacper. Worked a good opportunity in the first half with a strong shot with his left foot that forced Turner into a save, but few other opportunities.
Subs
Ilsinho – 6
A positive spark after arriving in the 63rd minute – but not much more than just a spark. Will be interesting to see how the Brazilian and the Union attack will adjust with teams still willing to double and triple team the crafty winger.
Andrew Wooten – 4
Completed 4 of 5 passes in 25 minutes of game time. Do you think we’ll see a lot of Andrew Wooten when Cory Burke gets back to the Union? I don’t.
Olivier Mbaizo – 6
Mbaizo lives! Got about 25 minutes on the right side of the defense and didn’t look out of place.
Warren Creavalle – n/a
Late cameo for Creavalle in the closer role.
Geiger Report
Robert Sibiga – 8
Hardly noticed the referee and that always feels like a good thing.
Man of the Match – Mark McKenzie
Strong argument for Matt Turner who finished with five saves, but McKenzie so assured for the Union in repelling the New England attack all night.
Both CBs were excellent, but I think McKenzie has to be above Elliott. Maybe a 7.5?
How do Sergio and Kacper earn such hard hi ratings? No creditable shots should equal 3s at most.
I really like Kacper and Sergio, but at what point do we hold them accountable for their inconsistency? Also I think we need to see more of Wooten. Not saying he’s our best option, but as mentioned above if Burke is coming back we need to give him a chance to earn a spot in the rotation. Or even increase his market value by knocking in 2-4 goals. If he can’t cut it, alright at least we tried. But I’m getting the feeling that Tanner isn’t happy with 4 good-not-great strikers in a league that relies on star strikers. He sold Picault because he thought he had something with this group. If one of them can’t be the “guy”, I’m sure at least 1 or 2 will be sold and we may finally get a DP striker. All that being said, still cheering for our current 4 to figure things out cuz I like them all.
I would argue that some of the issues are the strikers seem to need better service. They don’t make their own space to get off shots. But the scores for them were high just based on production!
We don’t have Medunjanin anymore and may not have Aaronson for much longer, so someone needs to step up in the “chances created” department.
Coaching? Game plan? Curtin not an offense-minded coach for sure. Maybe not the strikers’ fault entirely.
These ratings are too high for the offensive contingent, which generated little in the way of chances. Kacper gets maybe a 5 — and only because he was aggressive about coming back to the midfield to get the ball and dish it out — and Santos and Aaronson deserve no more than a 4.