The New England Revolution
opened its 2012 season last night with a 1-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in San Jose. Below are player ratings for the fourteen Revs who made appearances.
Player Ratings(1=atrocious, 3=poor, 5=average, 7=good, 10=excellent)
(1) Matt Reis: 6
The veteran goalkeeper didn't have a chance on the Earthquakes' goal, but was otherwise not really tested. There were numerous times when he decisively sprung off his line, and he was sure-handed throughout the game. Distribution improved as the game progressed, as he repeatedly opted for a higher-percentage throw or pass instead of the crapshoot of a punt.
(4) John Lozano: 4
The Colombian central defender was a disappointment. His distribution throughout the night was careless, and he was just average in defense.
(5) A.J. Soares: 5
Before being replaced by Tyler Polak in the 60th minute, Soares had a mostly solid game. His distribution from the back was pretty good, but he still needs to adjust to the shift from central defender to fullback.
(11) Kelyn Rowe: 5
Despite a very good pre-season that inspired a lot of high hopes and Rookie of the Year talk, Rowe's performance was pedestrian. He had some nice moments when he was involved in combination play, but he didn't create a true scoring chance and he wasted a corner kick in the waning minutes of the game.
(19) Clyde Simms: 5
I've always been a Clyde Simms fan, but his game tonight was average at best. As the holding midfielder in the 4-1-3-2 the Revs came out in, it was his job to serve as the pivot between the back line and the attackers, but he never took command in that role. He wasn't a liability on the defensive side.
(21) Shalrie Joseph: 3
Joseph's poor turnover in the 15th minute that led to the game-winning goal was the most obvious example of Joseph's poor showing. But Joseph was a non-factor throughout the game, and in some ways actually detracted from the team's performance. In the 51st minute, for example, his poor turnover almost led to a second goal, and his poor pass a minute later snapped a good little build-up the team was engineering.
(22) Benny Feilhaber: 5
Feilhaber was the only player on the field for the Revs who seemed to create possibilities, but the backline's predominant preference to play the ball over the midfielders' head limited his involvement in the build-up, and the strikers' inability to, well, do anything limited his ability to effectively participate in the attacking third. The one time he was able to meaningfully penetrate the penalty box was when he scuffed a good pass by Fernando Cardenas in the 48th minute. His obvious frustration with his teammates and his impatience with their lackluster play is concerning.
(23) Blake Brettsneider: 3
There were a few times when Brettsneider fulfilled his duty as the target forward by holding up play, but for the most part his play was non-threatening. Unfortunately for him, the only time he checked out of the Witness Protection Program was when he whiffed on a good chance late in the second half.
(26) Stephen McCarthy: 6
McCarthy joins Reis as having the most solid game for the Revs. He was solid defensively, and he was effective when he had the ball. Unlike his fellow central defender Lozano, McCarthy opted to maintain possession when he won the ball. He had an opportunity to finish an attacking run in the 13th minute, but chose to retreat. If he instead continues to finish his counter-attacking runs like he did once in the second half, he can give the Revs' attack another dimension a couple times per game.
(30) Kevin Alston: 5
Like his fellow defenders, Alston didn't commit any egregious mistakes defensively. His distribution, as usual, was uneven. There were times when he slowed himself down and played good passes to a teammate's feet, but there were other times when he was moving at 1,000 miles-per-hour and played careless passes.
(80) Fernando Cardenas: 4
Cardenas did a few things right. His involvement in a nice string of passes in the 9th minute was positive, as was his pass to Feilhaber in the 48th minute. For the most part, though, Cardenas was ineffective, and his canny ability to be offsides was frustrating.
(3) Tyler Polak: 5
After entering the game as a sub for A.J. Soares in the 60th minute, Polak acquitted himself well defensively and showed a lot of confidence in possession of the ball. Game circumstances late in the game forced him to play low-chance balls through the air, but he showed the ability to make sharp passes on the ground.
(13) Ryan Guy: N/A
Guy replaced Simms in the 79th minute and played an anonymous ten minutes.
(24) Lee Nyugen: 6
Nyugen replaced Cardenas in the 69th minute, and he threatened the Earthquakes' backline more in twenty minutes than Cardenas had in the previous seventy. His nifty footwork along the endline late in the game was the most glaring example of positive play, but he was confident on the ball throughout.
- John C.L. Morgan
