Photo: Marjorie Elzey
It was a forgettable Saturday night performance for the Union, as the main headline proved to be the weather rather than any of the action on the field. Considering the conditions, both teams will be content to take their point and move on. After a week of draws however, the Union still have plenty of work left in order to maintain a top four spot in the Eastern conference.
Player Ratings
Andre Blake – 8
Tough to rate Blake on a night during which no saves were required. There’s really nothing to dock him for in this match.
Nathan Harriel – 5
Harriel was OK on the ball during a match where the Union maintained 61% possession but struggled to generate any offense on the counter.
Damien Lowe – 8
Turned in a good performance on a night where Curtin needed a good performance from his centerbacks.
Jack Elliot – 8
Did well without his usual center back partner. Elliot getting into a groove going into the playoffs would be a huge positive.
Kai Wagner – 7
He was Johnny-on-the-spot with a few important clearances and continues to be one of, if not the, best left-backs in MLS.
Jesus Bueno – 7
Put in a good shift at the No. 6 in Martinez’s absence.
Jack McGlynn – 6
Not a great night from McGlynn, but certainly not a bad night. He had a few really solid passes which led to some half-chances for the Union.
Ale Bedoya – 5
The captain didn’t make much of an impact in this one.
Daniel Gazdag – 4
Seemed to be a bit hesitant with his decision making. Had his goal waived off due to Uhre being offside on the build-up. Overall, a forgettable night from the Hungarian.
Mikael Uhre – 3
The season of struggles continues for Uhre. He seemed really unsure of what to do once the ball came to him. With limited options up top, the Union really need Uhre to step up his game if they’re to make an MLS Cup run.
Julian Carranza – 5
Took an elbow to the head from Aaron Long in the second minute and was subbed off at half-time.
Substitutes
Tai Baribo (46′) – 6
Made some noise, including smashing a shot off the crossbar which led to the (eventually waived off) goal from Gazdag.
Quinn Sullivan (79′) – 6
The offense tends to look more dangerous when he’s on the field.
Chris Donovan (80′) – 5
Not much to note tonight for Donovan.
Geiger Counter
Allen Chapman – 6
Probably could’ve shown Aaron Long red in the second minute for his foul on Carranza, but otherwise had a minimal impact on the game.
Man of the Match – Damien Lowe
Lowe had as good of a match as you could’ve asked for while stepping in for the injured Glesnes. It wasn’t always pretty, but he made some important challenges that helped the Union keep the cleansheet on a night where the chances of a slip or mistouch were increased by the conditions.
I tired of waiting for Uhre to “step up his game”…
Completely agree. Uhre needs to be on the bench. I’ll take Baribo, Sullivan, and Donovan over him! Uhre has no ideas and no impact on the game.
I agree with Ben that Damion Lowe deserves credit for having come up with every play in potentially disastrous situations.
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And I expected that combining the conditions with LA’s speed and quickness would stress the Jamaican’s game. I was wrong, much to my pleasure.
Damion Lowe should be starting over Elliott at this point.
Not sure what you do with Uhre. I feel like hes been almost there for a while, but never really gets over the hump. I’ve watched clips of him at Bronby. He scored some really good goals. Quality finishing. Some of it may be down to better service, but he scored a lot of good poachers goals, and one-on-one run ins at the keeper. He’s had similar opportunities with the U but just hasn’t finished. I’m not sure it’s going to happen for him.
Uhre was excellent last year. But no one has been their best — except perhaps Luciano Acosta.
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Look no further than the Golden Boot race. With a few extra names in it, the leaders are largely the same as last season. The difference, is the goal totals. Mukhtar ended last season on 23, Gazdag on 22. Both are sitting low teens, with a few games left. It seems unlikely anyone will break 20.
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To me, that’s the league’s compressed schedule squashing quality across the whole. More games doesn’t always mean better.
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In Uhre’s case, he is still making the runs and doing the work. But the timing and finishing are not quite there. And both of those are heavily dependent on exhaustion.
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Everyone is excited we clinched Champions Cup (League) next season, but I’m not. I would be fine crashing out early, and tossing the Open Cup in the rubbish bin as well.
Good points. They have been playing too much. I still think that Leagues Cup was too much. It certainly had its moments of entertainment (thanks mostly to Messi) but it didn’t do much for the quality of the main competition. These guys have been stretched thin.
Elliott was my MOTM—seemed to be everywhere. Happy that Baribo showed more than in past appearances. I would have actually given him a 7. Uhre is a real conundrum—can we afford to rely on such a streaky player after Carranza leaves after the season?
Lowe was MOTM for me. We started calling him that in about the 70th minute. Not sure what is says about the game when your 3rd CB is even in the discussion for MOTM. Taking nothing away from Damaian. This was a difficult match to watch.
Concerned for the Captain. Thought he should have been subbed out around 65. Yes, he’s getting older but it that all there is to it?
Would like to see more of Quinn. He’s injected energy in his last two appearances.
The sheer volume of games played is taking its toll on everybody. We shouldn’t expect players to perform at the highest level when they are put out on the field 43 times so far this year, and it’s not October.