FC Cincinnati looked to be in control of Saturday night’s match before the Charleston Battery found an equalizer in the 70th minute. Coach Harkes continued to utilize his 4-1-4-1 that was successful vs. Louisville, but poor finishing on quality chances doomed FC Cincinnati to a 1-1 draw. Let us know what you think of our player ratings by leaving your comments below.
Starters: (4-1-4-1) Hildebrandt (GK); (R-L) Luke, Berry, Delbridge, Polak; Bone; Cummings (89′), Wiedeman, Stevenson (82′), McLaughlin; Okoli (70′)
Subs: Jaye (GK), Lee, McMahon, Mohamed (83′), Narbon (71′), Spencer (90′), Tomaselli
Goals:
52′ – FC Cincinnati – Omar Cummings (Jimmy McLaughlin)
70′ – Charleston Battery – Heviel Cordoves (Maikel Chang)
Scale: 10-9 World Class Performance, 8 Great Match, 7 Good Match, 6 Average Match, 5 Poor Match, 4 Negative Impact, 3-0 Blunders Galore.
Starters Ratings:
Hildebrandt – 7: Big save in the 16′ where Romario Williams got passed Berry and was open on goal. Made good decisions to get off his line throughout the night. Charleston was throwing long balls into the box repeatedly and Mitch was up to the task. In the 83′ Hildebrandt stopped a ball that deflected off the cross bar when his right cradled the ball just off the line. Overall good night for the keeper who kept his team in the match.
Luke – 5.5 : Was asked to get high up the pitch like his opposite fullback Tyler Polak. Was in the attack often, but could have played in a little faster. Misplaced some touches on the defensive end that led to some difficult throws. Also had a little confusion with Berry and McLaughlin when trading off assignments.
Berry – 5: Slow to several balls and made poor decisions on others. Was beaten by Cordoves in extra time that could have been an easy opportunity if Delbridge didn’t make a fantastic emergency tackle. It looks that Berry is still not 100% out there. Was a little slow in reaction and his passing wasn’t great. Did have an opportunity to score in the first, but was displaced by the Charleston defense.
Delbridge – 6 : Picked up his 5th yellow of the season and will be suspended next week vs. Montreal. Battled Romario Williams in the air and won many battles. Delbridge went to a phantom run near post and left Cordoves 1v1 with Hildebrant in the air on the equalizer.
Polak – 7: Big Tackle on Ricky Garbanzo early in the first. Closed him down and let him know he was there. Was adventurous in his forward runs. Even got so far as to make a strong near post run, but was not able to be found by Okoli. Was a big factor in Charleston inserting an extra forward later in the match. Had shut his assignments down well.
Bone – 7 : Had some issues communicating with Luke on a defensive switch in the box that allowed an open shot on Mitch. Good energy, pressed high when needed. Was stable in the DM role where he allowed Berry, Delbridge and fullbacks to get wide and push the ball up the field. Did adventure forward on several occasions, and was good at changing the attack when called upon.
Cummings (89′) – 7.5 : While at Nippert, I thought Cummings had a bad first half. Now watching video, he was ALL OVER the place covering ground and probing the defense. Right, left, front back, Cummings covered tons of ground and was probably the most creative player. Big goal in the 52′ but his passing wasn’t on point throughout the night. Another big opportunity in the 67′ where a ball was played over the top to Cummings and he looked to be fouled at top or in box. Cummings kept his feet but if he fell a potential penalty could have been given. Omar did almost make the near post attempt.
Wiedeman – 6.5 : In the first half Wiedeman and Stevenson had some issues running into the same space as one another. Great chance in the 42′ to draw a big save. Was more confident on the ball than several of his teammates. Showed some good creative ability towards the end and was FC Cincinnati’s best hope on crosses to net a winner. With more time, he and Stevenson could be a very good midfield pairing.
Stevenson (82′) – 6 : A little unsure on his runs in the first. Nearly scored in the 41′ from a deflection at the top of the 18′. Needs to be faster on his decision. Charleston would drop real deep on the defensive end, and limited his space to operate. Made several good offensive runs, but was not found by a teammates pass. Pressed well on the defensive side, but would have like to see him play faster on the break. His lack of recognizing a counter caused what could have been a 1v1 opportunity to flame out.
McLaughlin – 6.5: Got central quite a bit. Nearly had an opportunity in the 76′, but was a little slow in seeing the ball squirt his way. Did take some good opportunities and generally did well when presented with opportunities. Assisted on Cummings goal with a good pass across the box. Challenged the keeper on several occasions including a near miss back post.
Okoli (70′) – 6.5: Had some good give and go’s with Cummings and McLaughlin. Could have got on the end of McLaughlins chance in the 36′, but was potentially offside. Need to be more postionally aware in some attacking situations. Was offside in a potential effort after the Wiedeman strike in the 42′. Pushed play more early in the second half. Was dragged down by Mueller to deny an open chance on frame in the 48′. May have picked up a knock after going up against such a physical back four.
Sub Ratings
Narbon (71′) – 6: Drew a foul just outside the box that led to a potentially dangerous free kick. Had some difficulty getting onto the ball with the packed in Battery defense. Tried to draw additional fouls in dangerous positions, but the ref would not oblige.
Mohamed (83′) – 5: Gets a little shaky on the ball. Gave it up a little to easy with bad first touches. Killed several runs in and around the box by a careless touch or two. Which Mohamed will we see next week?
Spencer (90′) – NA: Had a headed effort blocked by a Charleston defender. Was also big on a clearance in the dying minutes.
@bryanjweigel for @cincysoccertalk
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