4-2-2-2
GK Josh Saunders 5.2
Saunders has been a steady goalkeeper
for NYCFC this season, but this match was not his finest hour and a
half. He did not get any favors from his center backs, but Saunders
was completely beffudled by Giovinco. The goal post ultimately had
more saves, two, than he did, one.
RB Andoni Iraola: 6.0
Iraola made his NYCFC debut this
match. Make no mistake, there should be high expectations for Iraola
however, he was overshadowed by the absence of Frank Lampard and
Andrea Pirlo. Iraola had a fine debut. He did not make any big
mistakes. He played fair defense, finishing with a team hig five
tackles. However, Iraola was not as important a part of the offense
as he should have been. The MLS is lacking in star quality fullbacks.
Iraola could be just that. However, in this match he had zero key
passes and attempted zero crosses. He needs to be more assertive and
support the offense, because he can be a difference maker.
CB Kwame Watson-Siriboe: 4.8
Watson-Siriboe was completely
overwhelmed this match against Toronto's attack, which was missing
two of their starters. Giovinco had no problems getting passed, or
around, or through Watson-Siriboe. Kwame was also responsible for the
second penalty, when he bowled over Totonto's player the box.
CB Shay Facey: 6.0
Facey was the stronger of New York's
two center backs, clearing the ball six times, and avoiding as many
mistakes as his counterpart. Facey also was heavily involved in the
passing game. He passed the ball sixty times during the match with an
accuracy of 93%.
LB Chris Wingert: 5.8
Wingert played pretty well defensively
as a fullback. He prevented the team from being beat from the
outside, and helped support the offense, making sixty-one passes with
an accuracy of 80%. In the second half Wingert moved to center back
to make room for Angelico.
RDM Andrew Jacobson: 6.8
Jacobson had a good game. He helped
NYCFC maintain possession throughout much of the match, especially in
the middle third of the field (cannot call that surface a pitch). His
passing accuracy was a stellar 89%. He also contributed winning the
ball on defense. He finished the match with three tackles and two
interceptions. Still, Jacobson—like everyone else—could not
provide an answer for Giovinco, and he failed to both slow him down
in the midfield, and deny him the ball.
LDM Ned Grabavoy: 6.0
Grabavoy does not often play like a
defensive midfielder. He usually plays well ahead of Jacobson, and
lends himself to the attack, rather than staying back on defense. His
ability to come forward gives freedom to the four men ahead of him to
get even further forward and receive the ball in perilous positions
for the defense. In this match he provided three key passes, and a
total passing accuracy of 84%. Despite the offensive contribution,
Grabavoy provided little aid to a defense that ultimately allowed
four goals.
RAM Thomas McNamara: 7.0
McNamara played pretty far forward in
this match, and did a good job linking up with David Villa. He
finished with a passing accuracy of 87%, which is excellent for
someone who plays as high up the field as
he does. Still, he could not always get the ball into the right
spots, and his delivery in the final third just was not as precise as
it could be; he finished with only one key pass, and only one short,
which was off target.
LAM Mehdi Ballouchy: 6.2
Ballouchy had a relatively quite
match. NYCFC tends to attack down the left hand side more than the
right. So, he is often left out of the attack. He was not bad. He
actually had more shots than McNamara, two one which was on target.
However, Ballouchy was not as assertive as he needs to be to get in
on the attack, and help win his team the game.
ST David Villa: 8.9
David Villa had another excellent
match; he has been nearly unstoppable of late. Villa should only
continue to to get better as the new additions of Lampard and Pirlo
get settled. Imagine how dangerous Villa is going to be in the box
when a defense cannot cheat on him because Lampard is waiting just
outside it. Villa scored twice,
once on his second PK, and the other off a terrific free kick outside
the box. Villa contributed all over the final third. He ended the
match with eight shots, six of which were on target. He also got out
wide and tried a few crosses, but only a couple found teammates. The
main criticism on Villa is he does not play defense. In fact he
sometimes is reluctant to get out of the final third. Now, if I were
David Villa perhaps I would not either, especially in a match that my
team had 62% of the possession.
ST Patrick Mullins: 7.7
This was the best I have seen Mullins
play. In fact, this is the best I have seen any striker play
alongside Villa—with no apologies to Nemec. He scored the
equalizer with a header off a free kick scramble, and also created
the own goal as his shot took a deflection off Perquis—you could
argue Mullins deserved both. He also put the ball in dangerous
positions for his teammates finishing with three key passes.
SUB Angelino (45' for Watson-Siriboe): 7.2
Angelino had a very impressive debut
for NYCFC. He came on after the half and provided great energy on the
attack. He was the catalyst for much of NYCFC's offense in the second
half, and moved the ball around well, finishing with a passing
accuracy of 93%. Angelino did not get back much on defense. NYCFC was
down for much of the second half. It is a wonder why Toronto did not
attack NYCFC's left side as a result.
SUB Kwadwo Poku (67' for McNamara): 6.7
Poku came in and brought great energy
and physicality to the attacking third.
SUB Pablo Alvarez (76' for Grabavoy): N/A
Alvarez came in the final fifteen
minutes and only received eleven touches.
4-1-3-2
GK Chris Konopka: 5.9
Konpka was the better keeper tonight,
but both gave up four goals. Konpka however, managed five saves.
Despite the saves, Konpka made a few critical errors. He was
responsible for the second penalty kick that tied the match
four-four. He also relaxed for a moment after saving the first
penalty kick, making him susceptible to the goal that followed
seconds later.
RB Justin Morrow: 7.0
Morrow was pretty steady during this
match. His defensive statistics stand out: team high tying three
tackles, four interceptions, and three clearances. However, there
were too many occasions that he allowed McNamara between himself and
the center back where he was able to cause trouble. Morrow is
excellent in the midfield and does a good job with possession and
winning the ball. He also was good getting forward and getting balls
into the box. He finished with a key pass and a perfect two for two
on his crosses despite a mediocre passing accuracy of 76%.
CB Damien Perquis: 5.5
Perquis had one of his weaker
performances this match. He had trouble with the pressure NYCFC put
into the box. He had a couple tackles and interceptions, but made two
big mistakes in this match: He fouled McNamara in the box to give up
the first penalty kick, and he took the deflection off Mullin's shot
(off the deflection of said penalty kick), which became an own goal.
CB Nick Hagglund: 6.5
Hagglund was about as good defensively
as you can get while allowing four goals. He finished the match with
five interceptions and four clearances. He was also good getting a
head onto balls coming into the box. Hagglund really struggled
distributing though, which may have been part of the reason Toronto
had such a problem maintaining possession. His passing accuracy was
only sixty-one percent.
LB Daniel Lovitz: 6.6
Lovitz got the start in Ashtone
Morgan's absence. He did a good job on defense grabbing five
interceptions, and three clearances in the match. However, he was
playing on the left side, and NYCFC tends to attack from the other
direction. He also allowed Mullins to drift between himself and the
full back, which led to a pair of goals. He was not a big threat on
offense.
CDM Collen Warner: 6.0
Warner is a good defensive midfielder,
and he had his bright moments in this match, finishin with four
interceptions. However, there were times when he was completely
overwhelmed by NYCFC's attack, allowing them to dominate possession
and constantly put pressure on their back line. Warner also had a
mediocre passing accuracy of 78%.
RM Marky Delgado: 7.0
Delgado scored his first goal of the
season in this match, benefitting from Giovinco's domination of the
NYCFC back line. Delgado had a good passing accuracy of 87%, but he
was not helpful in winning back possession, and was completely
circumvented in the attack as the ball often went straight to
Giovinco.
CM Benoit Cheyrou: 7.3
Cheyrou is one of the most underrated
players in the MLS. His greatest strengths are leadership and
experience, and he makes up the heart of Toronto's midfield. He is
capable of playing anywhere in the midfield, and contributes both
offensively and defensively. Cheyrou was positioned in Michael
Bradley's usual spot just behind the strikers, but he played further
back in a more central midfield role. Cheyrou's most obvious
contributions were defensively in this match; he finished with three
tackles, an interception and three clearances. His passing was good
as well; he finished with an accuracy of 83%, and he did well to hold
onto the ball. His long passes were also helpful keeping pressure on
the opponent's back line. Still, NYCFC dominated the midfield despite
Cheyrou's solid play, and Cheyrou was not as dynamic as you might
expect playing in a no. 10 role.
LM Jackson: 6.7
The highlight of Jackson's match came
in the way of a beautiful back heel that found a running Giovinco for
an easy goal. A part from that play though, hr offered little
offensive assertiveness, tallying only twenty touches all match. His
passing rate was high, 92.3%, but, again, only attempted thirteen
passes. He also offered little resistance on defense. This was a big
opportunity for Jackson with so many players missing from Toronto's
squad, but he has to make an effort to be more involved; he has a lot
of potential.
ST Sebastian Giovinco: 10.0
Giovinco proved he is the best player
in the MLS right now. He took the entire NYCFC back line on his own,
and won out time-after-time. His three goals were beautiful, and he
could have/should have had more. Giovinco's dribbling is unparalleled
in this league, and allowed him to get in to positions where he could
either shoot, or distribute. Giovinco finished the match with three
goals, an assist, three shots on goal, while hitting the post twice,
on seven total shots, he had three key passes, and completed five
dribbles. That's called filling up the box score.
ST Robbie Findley: 7.2
Findley received the opportunity—and
great honor, to play alongside Giovinco in Altidore's absence. This
was also the best I have seen him. He only had one shot on target, on
two total shots. But, fed Giovinco for an assist on an excellent pass
into the middle. Findley did positioning himself on the right side,
giving Giovinco space in the middle to work—we see this all the
time in basketball, giving LeBron space to drive into the lane.
SUB Eriq Zavaleta (76' Perquis): N/A
Zavaleta came into the match late for
Perquis to help maintain a one goal lead. Perquis had struggled this
game, so perhaps the thought was you do not want nerves influencing
Perquis to make another big mistake. However, Perquis is a veteran,
and you have to trust him to hold the final fifteen minutes. It is
not necessailry Zavaleta's fault they scored—it was Creavalle's,
but it is not always safe to start rocking the defensive boat so
late.
SUB Creavalle (Jackson 84'): 1.0
Creavalle only needed two minutes to
earn an abysmal rating. Creavalle came in late to help Toronto hold
their one goal lead, and he literally gave it away.
Come on, who else would it be?
-Once NYCFC receive their second half
reinforcements and Toronto FC gets their guys back from the Gold Cup,
these two teams may be the very best teams in the East. These two and
the Red Bulls are the most exciting teams to watch in the East at
least—no apologies to DC United.
-This was a very exciting match to
watch. During the broadcast one of the commentators mentioned how
David Villa had said the players in the MLS lacked technical skill
compared to the other league's he has been in—well, no duh—and
that caused more scrambles and 50-50 balls, and caused the game to be
more physical. This is exactly right, you cannot expect to see a
European style match when you are watching the MLS, but it is it's
own brand of entertainment. These two teams going back and forth was
a great thrill.
My team of the week is constructed
ONLY from the players involved in the two matches I have watched this
week.
GK Bobby
Shuttleworth NE
RB Justin Morrow
TFC
CB Damien
Perrinelle NYRB
CB Matt Miazga
NYRB
LB Anthony Wallace
NYRB
CDM Dax McCarthy
NYRB
RM Lloyd Sam NYRB
LM Mike Grella
NYRB
ST David Villa
NYCFC
ST Sebastian
Giovinco TFC
ST Bradley
Wright-Phillips NYRB
NYRB 7, TFC 2,
NYCFC 1, NE 1
Question for discussion:
Who do you think is the best team in the East right now in MLS?
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