FC Cincinnati saw their record-tying home winning streak come to an end as they drew 2-2 with the New England Revolution. Dom Badji opened the scoring with a tidy finish off a Yuya Kubo cross but then the formerdeflected a Roman Celentano parry into his own net minutes later to tie the score. Then, Gustavo Bou put the visitors ahead in the 24th minute. However, Badji would not end the game with the taste of an own goal in his mouth, grabbing the game-tying goal in the 55th minute. Despite FCC dominating down the stretch, they couldn’t find a breakthrough and settled for the home draw.
Let’s look at where your favorite FCC players ranked for this match.
Check out Cincinnati Soccer Talk’s post-match report HERE for more details.
RULES:
- Each player starts off with a six 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 and statistics from websites like FB Ref, Who Scored and FOTMOB.
- All statistics used will be taken from fbref.com when possible.
- A player may receive a N/A if they are subbed on/off before any quantifiable statistics are available.
Expected Goals (xG): FC Cincinnati – 1.8, New England – 0.5, per mlssoccer.com
Formation: 3-5-2
Now onto the ratings:
Manager – Pat Noonan – 6
Can I dock Noonan points for not starting a player that I have no idea whether or not he can play at this level? Probably not, but I’m going to anyway. As a general philosophy, I’d rather make my team weaker at one position, even if it’s a substantial dropoff, rather than two, even if each individual dropoff is a bit less. By starting Yerson Mosquera in the center of defense, Noonan made him less effective and was forced to bring in Ray Gaddis to play left-center. That decision proved costly.
Then, with the match tied 2-2, he waited until the 69th minute to bring on his first sub, then didn’t make another change until the 85th minute. I think Arias needed to be pulled earlier. Overall, the players, not the coach, drew this match. However, I think Noonan could have put them in a bit better place to succeed.
GK – Roman Celentano – 5
The first mark to look at when grading a goalkeeper is post-shot xG (PSxG). Roman gave up 2 goals on just .6 PSxG. New England’s first goal was an own goal, but Celentano probably should have done better with the parry to push the ball out of harm’s way. Also, if he got his angle spot-on he may have even been able to catch the ball. That said, I’m not sure he could have done anything about the Revolution’s second.
Finally, Roman was typically shaky when receiving back passes. Overall, a forgettable night for the youngster.
RWB – Santiago Arias – 4.5
Santi Arias has yet to live up to his “former Athleti player” hype. He began the match by failing to hit the target with a decent chance in the seventh minute. He was partially culpable in the runup to New England’s second goal when he dove in and failed to win his tackle, allowing the ball to be played to Boateng on the left. He failed to get a cross off in the 45th minute when Lucho Acosta played him in wide-open at the edge of the six-yard box when he probably should have scored. Finally, he had only one shot-creating action and one progressive pass.
Defensively, he wasn’t much better, earning only two blocked passes across all defensive stats. Yes, that means he had zero tackles. That said, he was able to contribute three progressive carries and two completed passes into the penalty area, so his night wasn’t a complete loss.
RCB – Nick Hagglund – 7
The Cincinnati Kid must have been very relieved to move back to his favored position right of center. He put in a much more “Nicky Haggs” like performance, even if he wasn’t dominant, winning four of six aerial duels and all three of his ground duels. Outside of dueling, his 80 percent passing included three progressive passes, and he also added a shot-creating action and four passes into the final third.
Defensively, Hagglund added a tackle, a blocked shot and two interceptions along with not committing a single foul.
CB – Yerson Mosquera – 7.5
Yerson Mosquera had a very good match as a defender, but I still don’t think he’s a good replacement for Miazga in the center of defense. His dueling (winning three of five ground and seven of nine aerial) is indicative of a very aggressive defender. The player at the heart of the defense needs to be a bit more measured, and Mosquera got caught out several times chasing challenges into the midfield.
Offensively, his 67 percent passing also shows his unfamiliarity with playing the position. Despite all of this, he still put in a rather respectable performance and made several key plays to keep New England from getting free runs at Celentano.
LCB – Ray Gaddis – 4
Ray Gaddis was FCC’s lowest-rated player according to FotMob. He was shaky in possession and inneffective defensively. It’s tough to fault the veteran, playing on his less-favored left side in a position where he has virtually no experience. That said, I can only grade on the performance we have, and it was not good.
Gaddis’ biggest mistake came in the 24th minute when he completely whiffed on a simple header that would have prevented New England’s second goal. Barreal was spotted on a few occasions covering the inside of Ray, who had strayed out of position. Finally, he was dribbled once, and his only defensive stat was a single blocked pass.
LWB – Álvaro Barreal – 7.5
Barreal had a very nice offensive performance despite failing to end up on the scoresheet. His 70 percent passing was average but included four progressive passes, and his five key passes and nine shot-creating actions trailed only Lucho Acosta.
The young Argentinian also contributed on the defensive side of the ball, notching four blocked passes and a tackle.
DCM – Marco Angulo – 6
A lot has been made of Angulo’s performances in the past two matches. It seems to me that since he is finally contributing and not looking completely out of his depth, people are a bit more excited than is necessary. In this match his 81.3 percent passing looks impressive. However, when you see that he had zero long passes and zero progressive passes while attempting the fewest passes of any player other than the forwards and Ray Gaddis, it looks a bit less so.
Defensively he looked like his positioning and tracking were relatively good. He was a bit aggressive chasing down marks on a few occasions, but overall didn’t look out of place. He added one tackle, two blocks and an interception to the stat sheet while being dribbled once. Angulo’s score might not be as high as you wanted it to be, but for a young player just finding his feet in America, it’s still pretty good.
DCM – Obi Nwobodo – 7.5
Obi’s 80.5 percent passing with three progressive and five passes into the final third is still a bit under what I’d like to see of a player that plays more like a #8 than a #6. He provided only one shot-creating action and had zero key passes. I’m glad to see him tally two shots, but neither looked dangerous.
Defensively, he continues to outperform his teammates. His three tackles were tops on the team, and he also added three blocks and an interception. Despite all this, he wasn’t quite up to his high standards in this match. He got into only five ground duels (winning three) and was dribbled twice.
CAM – Lucho Acosta – 8
Lucho Acosta had some sublime moments in this match. However, I contend that he failed to deliver when the team needed him most. He slipped in transition in the fifth minute, wasting a potential 3v2 and setting the tone for his match. Moments later, he left his crossfield pass short when Arias was streaking into the box completely unmarked. Even his pass that opened up Kubo to create the first goal was not hit with enough weight, causing him to slow down rather than continue his run. He ended the match like he started, missing the target badly in the fourth minute of stoppage time when he was 1v1 with left back Ben Sweat and probably could have created more. In all, he was dispossessed twice and had three mistouches.
But, as I said, he had some sublime moments also. His 15 shot-creating actions were far and away most on the team. He also led in progressive carries (six), more than doubling the next closest player. His 12 progressive passes tripled that of Barreal and Kubo, who tied for second in that category. Overall, having a disappointing match and still earning an “8” shows how high the expectations are for the FCC captain.
ST – Dom Badji – 8.5 (Man of the Match)
I must admit, grading Badji this high is a bit of back-slapping for a player who stepped up when his team needed him most. Dom set up Andrew Ferrel perfectly for his first goal by drifting toward the far post before making a near-post run. He made a fantastic play in the 20th minute to blow by Latif Blessing and get a shot that was well saved by Petrovic. Then, he added the game-tying goal with a nicely taken strike from the top of the box through quite a bit of traffic in the 55th minute.
Badji’s 87 percent passing, two progressive passes, three progressive carries and two shot-creating actions are very good numbers for a striker, but not elite. He held up the ball well all night, and committed only two mistouches while being dispossessed once. He can be graded down for kicking the ball off his standing foot and out of bounds in the 27th minute when he was in on goal with only the keeper to beat. The play was so poor, it even fooled the officials who awarded him a corner kick assuming that the defender must have got a toe in on the ball. Despite that, two well-taken goals for a fourth-string attacker earns man-of-the-match honors.
ST – Yuya Kubo – 7.5
When Yuya Kubo is on the pitch, a lot can happen for FCC. He flashed what he could bring to the team in the sixth minute when he received the ball in the middle of the pitch, opened up and played a lovely pass to Angulo just inside the right side of the box. His cross for Badji’s first goal in the 11th minute was fantastic. And, his movement and creativity throughout the match allowed Acosta to be more effective.
However, when playing striker, you kind of need to have some offensive output. Outside of his assist, he had several moments where he could have broken the game open. The worst of these was when he failed to hit the target from close range when Acosta played him in after winning the ball in the 26th minute. Still, I think Kubo’s flexibility adds more than his lack of finishing subtracts, and I hope that he gets more minutes going forward.
SUBS
Sergio Santos (69th minute) – 6
Santos worked hard when he came on, but he failed to impact the match enough to cause the Revolution any real worry. His single shot sailed wide of the target, and even though Stu Holden waxed poetically about how creative it was on the broadcast, it still didn’t trouble Petrovič in net. He was able to add two shot-creating actions and a progressive and a key pass.
Santos also lost his only ground duel and won only one of his four aerial duels. Most glaringly, he tied for the lead on the team with three mistouches despite playing only 22 minutes.
Arquimides Ordoñez (85th minute) – N/A
Alvas Powell (86th minute) – N/A
Malik Pinto (89th minute) – N/A
Availability Notes: Matt Miazga (international duty), Brandon Vazquez (international duty), Junior Moreno (leg)
DEFINITIONS:
- xG – Expected goals (or xG) measures the quality of a chance by calculating the likelihood that it will be scored from a particular position on the pitch during a particular phase of play
- xA – Expected assist (or xA) is directly related to the xG of a shot that the pass creates.
- Post-Shot xG (PSxG) – Post-Shot xG is calculated after the shot has been taken, once it is known that the shot is on-target, taking into account the quality of the shot.
- Progressive Pass – A pass that advances toward the opponent’s goal where the distance between the starting point and the next touch is:
- at least 30 meters closer to the opponent’s goal if the starting and finishing points are within a team’s own half
- at least 15 meters closer to the opponent’s goal if the starting and finishing points are in different halves
- at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal if the starting and finishing points are in the opponent’s half
- Progressive Carry – Carries that move the ball toward the opponent’s goal at least 5 yards or any carry into the penalty area. Excludes carries from the defending 40% of the pitch.
- Dribble – Moving past the opposing player while maintaining possession of the ball. When a player shields the ball or otherwise uses physical strength to maintain possession, this is not a dribble.
- Key Pass – A pass that immediately creates a clear goal scoring opportunity for a teammate. A key pass does not have to lead to a shot, and thus is different than a shot-creating action.
- Long Pass – Definition depends on the site being used. Typically, a pass that travels a distance greater than 30 yards.
- Mistouch – When a player fails when trying to gain control of the ball without a defender earning a tackle or a ground duel.
- Ground Duel – A challenge between two players to gain control of the ball, progress with the ball, or change its direction.
- Dispossessed – The times a player loses control of the ball after a tackle from an opponent, not including attempted dribbles.
- Recovery – Any action that ends the possession of the opponent without the ball going out of bounds. Recoveries are typically duels (44%) or interceptions (16%), but can happen without any specific action from the player doing the recovery (positioning himself correctly or simply collecting the ball).
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