A comedy of errors plagued the field at Nippert Stadium Sunday night as FC Cincinnati fell 2-1 to D.C. United. Donovan Pines kicked off the scoring in the 38th minute off a blunder from Bobby Edwards. Edwards tipped the ball back into play right in front of Pines for the opener. Brandon Vazquez scored in the 66th minute after DC goalkeeper Chris Seitz spilled a Siem de Jong shot, leaving the forward to tap in between Seitz’s legs and into the goal. A final error by Andrew Gutman gave the ball to D.C. right in front of the Cincinnati box. Edwards came up with a strong initial save, but the ball went straight into the area where Gutman vacated, where Chris Odoi-Atsem hit into the open goal.
Check out Cincinnati Soccer Talk’s post-match report here for more details.
Rules:
- Each player starts off with a 6 as a standard rating. Six signifies an “average performance” for the match.
- Players will receive additions or subtractions to their score based on individual moments and the overall team performance.
- We’ll look at multiple criteria such as statistics and the Audi Player Index (API), Who Scored, and Stats Zone to assess a player’s rating.
- A player may receive an N/A if they are subbed in/off before any quantifiable statistics are available.
Now onto the ratings:
GK – Bobby Edwards: (4)
You won’t see many worse mistakes a keeper can make like the error that led to D.C.’s opening goal. Edwards tried to feed a long ball and with his body heading out of bounds, he tipped the ball back in play in front of the open goal. It doesn’t get much easier for D.C., and simply put, it’s an error you can’t make.
RB – Saad Abdul-Salaam: (5)
Saad Abdul-Salaam had to come out of the match in the 54th minute with a hamstring injury. He won two tackles and three clearances. He was just unable to get any width partnering with Alvaro Barreal. Add to that he completed just 65% of his passes.
CB – Tom Pettersson: (6)
Both FC Cincinnati centerbacks had a strong night and weren’t at fault on both goals. D.C. didn’t get many strong chances through the run of play. Pettersson hit 51 of 54 passes and did a nice job shuffling the ball to the wings.
CB – Nick Hagglund: (6)
I’m liking the move to a back four with Hagglund’s speed. That, along with his awareness tracking runs improving, has made him quite effective. He had a key 17th-minute tackle to stop the break for D.C. If he doesn’t make that tackle, D.C. has a great chance to take the early lead.
LB – Andrew Gutman: (4.5)
Kevin McCloskey called it out on the broadcast several times. Instead of passing the ball out of pressure, Gutman too often tries to dribble out and gets dispossessed. It finally bit FC Cincinnati late in the match, where a heavy touch led to a D.C. counter for the winning goal. It’s the little self-inflicted wounds that have crushed FC Cincinnati this season.
CM – Kamohelo Mokotjo: (6)
Kamohelo Mokotjo got a surprising start after playing a lot of minutes midweek against Columbus. I continue to like the progress and relationship developing between him and Haris Medunjanin. If you look at his heat map, Mokotjo was all over the pitch. I think as his play develops with his teammates, he’ll be able to create more opportunities.
CM – Haris Medunjanin: (6.5)
Like Mokotjo, Medunjanin was all over the field. He dropped back into the backline or headed up the field into the attack when needed. He was 60 of 73 in distribution and looked to be the one player who stirred the drink for the offense. He tried to set up Vazquez early and created a pair of chances.
AM – Frankie Amaya: (5)
Amaya got his first start in the No. 10 role this season, but he was unable to do much to aid the attack. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to come into the game until Mokotjo came out and Amaya dropped next to Medunjanin. Coach Jaap Stam has a decision to make with Amaya and Allan Cruz. Both look like players that are able to play several positions but don’t really excel at any one role.
RW – Alvaro Barreal: (5.5)
If you want one player to be excited about right now, it’s Barreal. His vision is outstanding, and I can’t wait to see him develop an attacking partnership with Jurgen Locadia and Yuya Kubo. He’s electric as the ball sticks to his feet in tight situations. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to find the final ball in the attacking third. He was just 3 of 9 and failed to connect a pass in the box. Is that on him or a symptom of few options in the attack? At some point, FC Cincinnati needs to develop patterns of play and not just rely on pure randomness for a goal. If you get follow-up runners into the box or players trying to get behind the backline, I think Barreal will find them.
ST – Brandon Vazquez: (7)- Man of the Match
Vazquez was the man of the match for me Sunday night. He put in an admirable performance with little help up front. Vazquez led the team with three shots, including the lone goal, pouncing on the Seitz error. I give him the Man of the Match award because he didn’t hold up his run. De Jong’s shot came in with a lot of pace, and Vazquez did well to put it in the back of the net.
LW – Joseph-Claude Gyau: (5.5)
Gyau had to go forward, then back, then forward. He was 25 of 26 in distribution but didn’t get anything in the attacking third. His cameo at right-back went off without any real issues on his account. I would just like to start seeing some final quality and not just pace and effort.
SUB- Rashawn Dally (54th Minute): (6)
Dally came in for Saad Abdul-Salaam with Gyau dropping to play right back. For not being a wing player, he put in a nice shift for the Orange & Blue. He was careful on the ball and put in a couple of chances into the box.
SUB- Siem de Jong (60th Minute): (6)
Siem de Jong came in at the hour mark for Mokotjo. With the move, Amaya dropped back deeper into the midfield. His shot on goal in the 66th minute wasn’t fielded cleanly, and Vazquez tapped it in for the equalizer. It was one of the few times this year where de Jong asserted himself into the match.
SUB- Zico Bailey (85th Minute): (N/A)
Bailey came in as a late sub for Alvaro Barreal.
Injury Notes (Out): Kendall Waston, Jurgen Locadia, Greg Garza, Przemysław Tytoń, Spencer Richey, Mathieu Deplagne, Maikel van der Werff, Allan Cruz.
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