Photo: Marjorie Elzey
It was a physical affair when Cincinnati and Philadelphia took the pitch on Saturday night, with numerous yellow cards and two red cards being shown. A draw sees Cincinnati take firm control of first place in the Eastern Conference, while it was a missed opportunity for Philadelphia to pick up 3 points in the Supporters Shield race.
Player ratings
Andre Blake — 7
A solid night for Blake, who didn’t have much of a chance on either goal.
Nathan Harriel — 6
Wasn’t involved much in the offense as he normally is, but some important minutes against a good opponent.
Jakob Glesnes — 6
An okay night for Glesnes, had a good first half but was below average in the second, like most of defense.
Jack Elliott — 4
An early yellow card made him more cautious, only to receive a second yellow and be sent off at the end of the match.
Kai Wagner — 7
A good outing for Wagner in a tough matchup, was involved offensively and recovered defensively well.
Jack McGlynn — 7
Another start for McGlynn where he was impactful in unlocking defenses and keeping possession well in midfield.
José Martinez — 8
A classic Martinez outing but an early hook due to a yellow card. A well taken long range goal adds a new dimension to the attack.
Damian Lowe — 6
Much like Glesnes, Lowe had a good first half but then struggled in the second.
Dániel Gazdag — 8
Another penalty goal for Gazdag as he continues his good record from the spot. Played some good passes to unlock Cincinnati.
Mikael Uhre — 7
A more involved outing from Uhre as he seems to be turning a corner later in the season.
Julián Carranza — 6
Lots of running from Carranza but no clear looks for him on goal.
Substitutes
Jesus Bueno — 6
A usable sub for Martinez to hold down the midfield and provide some fresh legs.
Tai Baribo — 6
A 20 minute runout for the new man against one of the best in MLS.
Chris Donovan – N/A
A stoppage time sub to eat up some time.
Geiger Counter
Ismail Elfath- 4
A lot of yellow and red cards shown in a game where the man with the whistle didn’t have enough control.
Man of the Match — Jose Martinez
A great goal and good defensive cover during his time on the pitch give Martinez the honors.
Glad to get a little validation here on my feeling that Uhre looked mostly good, making nice runs, placing some good passes. Nothing to show for it, but he’s looked better. Attack as a whole still isn’t firing on all cylinders.
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We might have been able to hold on to the win if Martinez was still out there for Cincy’s second goal. I think the back three has run its course. Has looked a lot more shaky since the League’s Cup. Lowe, in particular, has fallen off.
I don’t think Lowe has fallen off .
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By this point in the season the speed of play has accelerated past his capabilities. Kate season play is must faster than it is in the beginning or in the middle.
Interesting point on speed of play.
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I think the 3-5-2 was an excellent emergency answer early in the season when we were missing people, but it really hasn’t been a true key for this team. And it’s not our best formation. It’s curious to me how we brought back the players from last year’s team and then ask them to play a different formation that we didn’t use at all on our run to mls cup last year.
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We also ostensibly brought in Torres to be our Ilsinho late game super sub, but have failed to play him in the 4-2-3-1 that worked so well with Ilsinho. Remember? “Wear them down with and aggressive high press 4-4-2, then switch to 4-2-3-1 when they’re tired and let Ilsinho break ankles.” Torres has that skill, but I’m not convinced we’re giving him a chance to succeed.
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And Damien Lowe is an excellent backup option, but why is he a written in pen starter? It’s like Jim can’t bear to choose.
I think he had some very strong performances earlier this season. Hasn’t been convincing lately.
A little confused by some of these (including the comments). Glesnes was basically at fault for not challenging hard enough on the first goal against. He needs to be downgraded for that. Carranza had a horrible give away on a back pass that led straight to the tying goal. His score needs to be hit hard for that.
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Harriel and Lowe were also partially at fault on the tying goal (with the latter basically taking Blake out of the play).
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And Martinez wasn’t pulled because of a yellow card (he not only didn’t receive one, he was taking his turn pulling players away from arguing with the ref). He was pulled due to an injury.
Carranza looked tired to me. I think he needs a rest. He could have been subbed off fifteen minutes prior to that bad pass.
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Andy is spot-on about Martinez–one of his more in-control matches, both emotionally and physically. If he can play this way going forward and stay on the field, the Union will be tough to beat. I thought that Harriel had a pretty good game. I think that Gazdag was rated too high; he had a handful of stumbles and bumbles with the ball at his feet in the run of play. I thought that Carranza was distracted by the lack of love from referee Elfath, who allowed all manner of fouls to be committed on him from minute 1. Unfortunately, the “book” on Carranza seems to be to foul him to cause a reaction, and that seems to work to take him out of his game somewhat. I am not that sold on Uhre. He seems to be the same size as Brandon Vasquez, but he does not seem capable of causing the same sort of chaos in his hold-up play. Lastly, there is no rating for Curtin, whom I have to downgrade because the Union are starting to make second half sags for the first 10 minutes a bit of a habit–I don’t like it!