FC Cincinnati’s Supporters Shield celebrations got off to a rocky start on Wednesday when a heavily rotated squad couldn’t get the job done against the New York Red Bull at home. Things went downhill quickly when Frankie Amaya curled in a long-distance shot in the 12th minute to put the visitors up 1-0. Then, Elias Manoel doubled the lead just five minutes later with a volley from close range. Luciano Acosta continued his MVP campaign by cutting the lead in half from the penalty spot in the 68th minute, but the hosts couldn’t muster another and finished the match with a 2-1 loss.
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 – 1.4, New York Red Bull – 0.6, per mlssoccer.com
Formation: 3-5-2
Now, onto the ratings:
Manager – Pat Noonan – N/A
This is the first time I’ve ever given a manager a rating of N/A, but I can’t begin to grade Noonan on this match. Was he trying to win? If so, he gets very low marks from me for making seven changes, a number that doesn’t give any of his players the chance to find a rhythm. Is he preparing his guys for the playoffs? If that’s the goal, I would grade him much higher. I thought getting his de facto starters on the pitch for 30 minutes gave them the chance to stretch their legs while minimizing fatigue.
Whatever the game plan was, it didn’t help his team secure a victory over New York Red Bull, but still might have been the right call.
GK – Alec Kann – 5
Alec Kann got the surprise start in a heavily rotated squad and didn’t really cover himself in glory. He seemed very slow to react to Frankie Amaya’s 25-yard shot that beat him to open the scoring. The shot was quickly taken, but with a PSxG of just .15, wasn’t particularly well hit. The second goal was well-taken and I’m not sure there’s a ton he could’ve done about that one.
He did have a very nice reaction save in the 63rd minute when Elias Manoel rolled Malik Pinto and shot from 18 yards. Outside of that, he didn’t have much to do as NYRB mustered only .6 xG.
RWB – Alvas Powell – 4
Alvas Powell struggled mightily in defense in this match. He got torched by Luquinhas on several occasions, including in the eighth minute when he was tied in knots before allowing a cross that was put out for a corner. The subsequent corner resulted in Cameron Harper having a chance to open the scoring, which he luckily put wide. Then, Luquinhas beat him to the inside in the 12th minute, setting up Frankie Amaya’s opening goal. He also shares some of the blame for Red Bulls’ second goal of the match, when he got his hips turned in the wrong direction, allowing John Tolkin to receive the ball on the front foot and clip it across for Elias Maonel to volley home. Finally, even though his first yellow card wasn’t entirely his fault (he was hung out to dry by a bad Marco Angulo pass), he still has to be smarter and avoid getting the second. In all, he managed only one tackle and one block for the match.
Powell did have some bright moments on the offensive side of the ball. In the 14th minute, he carried inside and just missed finding the far post with his left-footed shot. In first-half stoppage time, he dribbled through some pressuring defenders before finding Angulo out wide, though the youngster’s cross sailed harmlessly through the box. He ended the match with six progressive actions, a key pass and three passes into the final third.
RCB – Nick Hagglund – 6
Nick Hagglund might have looked shaky nearly every time he touched the ball against the Red Bull press, but he actually faired pretty well. He ended the match with an 83 percent passing rate that included completing six of nine long balls. He did end the match with two mistouches, however.
Defensively, he was somewhat non-existent. He didn’t have any huge mistakes, though he was probably lucky to stay on the pitch after he was only shown a yellow card for his studs-up challenge that sent substitute Omir Fernandez back to the sideline. He only ended up in four ground duels and won three of them.
CB – Matt Miazga – 8
It’s odd to see a defender who was on the pitch for two goals get such a high score, but I don’t think there’s anything Miazga could have done about either of them. In his one half of play, he was excellent on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he completed nine of 10 long passes and was virtually mistake-free. Defensively, he tracked the Red Bull forwards well and ended with a 75 percent duel win rate and a key interception. Miazga would have received man-of-the-match consideration had he played more minutes.
LCB – Yerson Mosquera – 7
Yerson Mosquera had a rather erratic match. He was all over the place … literally. His 21 duels won were more than anyone else on the pitch. The closest player was Kyle Duncan who had eight. He also led FCC with eight recoveries. As a center back, he led FCC in take-ons attempted (seven) and completed (five). He also led FCC with eight progressive passes and chipped in with five passes into the offensive third.
However, Mosquera made some big mistakes as well. He tracked Tom Barlow across the middle of the goal and stood next to Miazga as Manoel was left wide open to volley home from 13 yards out. He turned the ball over three times, trying to carry it out of his defensive half. Lastly, he had a whopping four mistouches, which is four too many for a central defender. Though he was probably the default man-of-the-match because he was one of the few players who played well and also played significant minutes, his mistakes are far too many for me to give him the honor.
LWB – Ray Gaddis – 6
At times, Ray really struggled with the Red Bull press. However, he also had a few moments of good combination play with Aaron Boupendza. In the 10th minute, he had a beautiful link-up with the striker before finding Yuya Kubo streaking through the middle of the field. In the 35th minute, he had a nice flick off the sideline to Boupendza, who couldn’t return the favor. However, even when he could get forward, he had no end product to speak of.
Gaddis was also solid defensively. It was a bad giveaway, not a defensive error, that led to him picking up his yellow card. He also ended the match with two won tackles, two interceptions and wasn’t dribbled at all.
DCM – Marco Angulo – 4
Marco Angulo got a very rare start in this match and he looked like he very rarely starts. His 61.5 percent passing is horrid for a defensive midfielder. He also had a mistouch and two dispossessions. And, his poor play wasn’t just his mistakes. He also didn’t add any value to the attack, providing only one progressive action (a carry) and no shot-creating actions on an abysmal 22 touches.
Defensively, he wasn’t much better. He dropped way too deep in the 12th minute, leaving Amaya open for his 25-yard shot that put the visitors up 1-0. It was his sloppy back pass to Alvas Powell that resulted in the outside defender picking up his first yellow card. Finally, he won only two of five ground duels and was dribbled once.
DCM – Obi Nwobodo – 7
Defensively, Obi Nwobodo was one of the few bright spots in the first half of play. He had a tackle, a block, and an interception while winning all four of his duels. Unfortunately, he only played one half.
Offensively, Obi struggled supremely without his typical cast of characters around him. He had a good run to the byline in the 31st minute, only to see his cross blocked by a covering defender. He only managed one progressive pass and didn’t create any shots. Finally, his 55 percent passing rate was the lowest on the team.
Referee – Chris Penso – Man of the Match
Once again I find myself resorting to picking on referees since nobody on FCC really deserved the man-of-the-match honors. Chris Penso certainly didn’t cost FCC the match, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was abjectly terrible. He allowed the NYRB to constantly foul whenever FCC broke their press. He tried his hardest not to give FCC a penalty, emphatically waving off appeals after center back Andrés Reyes clearly stuck his arm out to block the ball. Then, even with the benefit of replay, he didn’t give Reyes a yellow card despite the egregious nature of his handling the ball, presumably because he didn’t want to send the big man off. Finally, I think the play in the second half where Edelman’s late challenge on Dom Badji on the left touch-line in transition resulted in Penso awarding the foul against Badji might have been one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen.
CAM – Yuya Kubo – 5.5
Yuya Kubo once again got a chance to show that he could be a decent analog for Lucho Acosta at the #10 spot and once again failed to convince. With Edelman and Amaya following him all over the pitch, he struggled to get anything going in possession. His 74 percent passing was fine, but FCC really needed more than his three progressive passes and one progressive carry. Perhaps worst of all, as the team’s attacking midfielder for 60+ minutes, he failed to earn a single shot-creating action.
The only chances Kubo did have to make any hay on the ball were in transition, and he also failed there. After receiving the ball from Gaddis on the break in the 10th minute, he played the ball behind a streaking Powell, ending a promising attack. He picked up a deflected cross and had a shot from 13 yards that he hit directly at goalkeeper Carlos Coronel. It would have been tough to score on his left foot from a tight angle, but had Kubo been able to force Coronel into a more difficult save, there may have been a rebound for Dom Badji lurking on the back post. In the 47th minute, Pinto picked off a pass and found Kubo in the left half-space, but Kubo’s pass to Badji was overhit and went out for a goal kick.
ST – Aaron Boupendza – 5.5
Aaron Boupendza once again had a match full of head-clutching plays but with a couple of moments of magic mixed in. He had a clever backheel in the 31st minute that sent Nwobodo in on goal, though the Nigerian couldn’t quite get a cross away. It was also his decent bounce pass that put Acosta through to cross on the left side, which earned the Argentinian his spot-kick. Outside of that, however, he attempted four take-ons and was only successful with one, and he was credited with three mistouches.
Sometimes strikers have a lot of mistouches and giveaways. We forgive them because they also take chances that earn scoring opportunities. However, in this match, Boupendza only had two shots, neither on target. He only managed to receive two progressive passes. Finally, in the second minute of stoppage time with his team pressing for an equalizer, he sent a Barreal cross well out of bounds when he could have nodded it back across for the plethora of FCC players who were still forward following a free kick.
ST – Dom Badji – 4
Dom Badji had only 22 touches. That is the fewest of any of the starters, including those that played only 45 minutes. Furthermore, he was completely ineffective with those touches. He was credited with four mistouches in all and failed to hold the ball up on several more occasions. In the 17th minute, he couldn’t control the ball under pressure from a center back, resulting in NYRB coming right back down the field and scoring their second goal of the match. Finally, he had zero shot-creating actions and only two progressive passes.
SUBS
Malik Pinto (46th minute) – 6.5
Malik Pinto didn’t look like a player who hasn’t played hardly at all of late. He had a wonderful turn in traffic and pass forward to Boupendza in the 55th minute, but the striker had a heavy touch before Angulo stormed forward and blazed the shot over the bar. He also had some nice defensive interventions through his great positioning. Impressively, he was second on the team with seven recoveries despite playing only 45 minutes.
However, Pinto also showed some real moments of naivete. In the 88th minute, he made Amaya look like Maradonna by being unable to win the ball off him in the midfield. Amaya then passed the ball to Peter Stroud, who drew the rash challenge out of Powell that resulted in his second yellow card. He also picked up a card himself when he failed to realize he was chasing the dive-prone Luquinhas and he reached out and touched the forward’s shoulder, sending him collapsing to the pitch.
Ian Murphy (46th minute) – 6.5
Ian Murphy had a really nice half of play after coming on at the break. It was his lovely line-splitting pass to Aaron Boupendza that allowed Lucho Acosta to get on the ball and earn his penalty kick. He had two progressive passes in all. Defensively, he was also very solid. He ended the match with two tackles and won all three of his ground duels.
Lucho Acosta (58th minute) – 6
Outside of his extremely well-hit penalty, Acosta didn’t really get going in this match after coming on in the 58th minute. He virtually led the charge of FCC players losing their cool by charging at the assistant referee to argue a goal kick, then getting in the face of Kyle Duncan after a foul on Barreal and picking up a yellow card. To make matters worse, that foul set up a dangerous chance for FCC to end the game, but Acosta tried to play square to Barreal and had his pass picked off easily.
Álvaro Barreal (58th minute) – 6
In his 33 minutes on the pitch, Barreal had five progressive passes. That was good enough to earn second place on the team in that category. However, he couldn’t really spark anything to life in the offense. He ended the match with only one shot-creating action and one key pass. Lastly, he picked up a very silly yellow card at the end of the match for screaming in Chris Penso’s face, even if he was just acting on what we all wanted to do.
Brandon Vazquez (80th minute) – N/A
Availability Notes:
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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