Nashville SC once again found itself picking up a point, drawing 1-1 against Portland Timbers Wednesday.
Below are our player ratings.
Each member of the Speedway Soccer crew gives each player that saw the pitch a rating based on their match performance. Below is a quick guideline for our evaluation process.
- A rating of 6 denotes an average performance. Each player starts out with a 6 and their performance either adds or subtracts from that rating.
- Scores are determined after re-watching the match and looking at the stats, and are the averaged total of each Speedway member’s ratings.
Joe Willis – 6.8: Willis is always good for one spectacular save per match these days, which certainly happened on a late volley. Willis was able to answer the call and help his side preserve the point.
Dan Lovitz – 6.8: Two key passes and four tackles on the night for Lovitz, who continues to do it all on Nashville’s left flank.
Shaq Moore – 6.8: Moore put in some splendid crosses in and, like Lovitz, registered four tackles, all in 73 minutes of play. Considering the past two matches are the first minutes of match play he’s done in months, it’s an encouraging sign that both performances have been solid as he continues to get closer to being able to potentially playing a full 90.
Walker Zimmerman – 6.3: Zimmerman didn’t have the most convincing header on trying to clear the ball that led to Portland’s goal, but it was as much as he could do considering he was being challenged on a teasing ball. Still, he was able to make up for it with five clearances and a couple of blocked shots.
Dave Romney– 5.7: Completed 87% of his passes out of the backline, including 67% of his long balls, but was a bit of a liability on the defensive side.
Brian Anunga – 5.8: Anunga let a number of Portland midfielders and attackers slip through a few times into space, allowing them to create some dangerous plays.
Sean Davis– 6.7: Davis provided the poorly-cleared ball from the corner to Bunbury that led to Nashville’s lone goal on the night, which was an excellent heads up play to square the ball over to the man with space in the box.
Alex Muyl – 5.8: Muyl was fairly active on the offensive side of the ball, registering three total shots. One was blocked, and another was on target though. The dribbling was a bit suspect (33% completed dribbles), but did have eight recoveries.
Randall Leal – 6: Leal had the highest passing accuracy on the night for Nashville (95%), but only had one shot on the night, which was outside the box and off target.
Teal Bunbury – 8: Make that three goals in three matches for Bunbury, who seems to keep finding himself in spots to capitalize on his opportunities. Did have another chance for Nashville where a one-time shot would’ve been an almost guaranteed goal, but elected to take a touch first instead.
Hany Mukhtar – 7.2: Had three key passes and did appear to be fouled in the box in the second half, but the referee deemed his actions as a simulation, and Mukhtar was given a yellow card.
SUBS
Eric Miller (on 73′) – 5.5: Provided some offensive support off the bench surprisingly with his accurate passing and runs with the ball at his feet, and had a clearance and interception as well.
CJ Sapong (on 73′) – 5.5: Did have a go at goal during his limited minutes, but his shot was off target. His passing wasn’t the sharpest either (33% on nine passes), and he only won two-of-eight aerial duels.
Luke Haakenson (on 87’) – 5: Barely made a mark on the match, as he had zero touches.
MANAGER
Gary Smith – 7: Same old song and dance for Smith and his side the past three matches. Go up a goal. Concede an equalizer. Draw. It’s a common occurrence now and has resulted in 1-3-2 record for Nashville in six matches. Granted, the officiating in this match was questionable at times, but the point remains the same in that Nashville needs to be more clinical in front of net.
Now, Nashville’s remaining slate of fixtures do see the Boys in Gold at Geodis Park in an overwhelming amount, but their home record so far at their new ground as been so-so at best.
What say you? Do you agree or disagree with our match ratings? Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter and let us know your thoughts.
