Nashville SC completed an impressive comeback Saturday, defeating Sporting KC 2-1 to pick up its second straight win in as many matches.
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 – 7.2: Willis had two big saves early on in the match, but then conceded the opening goal from a ball across the box and didn’t have enough time to get across the box to prevent an unmarked Remi Walter from slotting it home.
Taylor Washington – 6.2: Another decent showing for Washington, who did pick up a booking, but still contributed a key pass on the night. Having a serviceable winger like Washington to put in a shift during Daniel Lovitz’ absence is quite the luxury Gary Smith has.
Dave Romney – 8.0: Found himself unmarked in the box and thumped home a header from Randall Leal’s cross for the equalizer. His long throw also helped set up the match-winner. An outstanding performance from an offensive and defensive standpoint.
Walker Zimmerman – 7.0: Zimmerman made his way back into his regular starting spot as the anchor for this backline. Was impressive with his long ball distribution (60%), but only contributed one clearance.
Jack Maher – 6.7: Maher completed 96% of his passes and won a couple of tackles as well. Will he overtake Eric Miller in the starting RCB role? Both have been playing fairly well recently.
Sean Davis – 6.5: Davis had the hockey assist on the match-winner as he slid a through ball past the defense that took a few deflections before finding CJ Sapong for the finish. He also completed 92% of his passes and recovered well on defense when needed.
Brian Anunga – 6.0: Having Davis paired up with Anunga has really helped the Cameroonian international thrive in his two recent starts, as the two compliment each other well, with Anunga being the workhorse trying to win the ball and Davis looking to distribute the ball forward. Anunga will probably make his way back to the bench once Godoy is fully fit from World Cup qualifying, but has proven his worth as an option when trying to preserve a lead.
Alex Muyl – 6.5: Muyl seems to have found his form recently in the right wingback slot. Although his offensive contributions have been wonderful, Chris Ivey points out “He was pretty dreadful defensively when pinned back. Partly responsible for the goal and nearly gave away chances on a few others.”
Hany Mukhtar – 6.8: Should have scored on the penalty awarded to Nashville, but still had four key passes and completed 50% of his dribbles past the opposition.
Randall Leal – 8.0:  Leal’s best performance of the season, as he was an absolute terror going forward and created multiple chances, including whipping in a fantastic cross for Dave Romney to get on the end on for the equalizer.
CJ Sapong – 7.7: It was one of those “right place, right time” situations for CJ Sapong on the match-winner, as he was quick to react to the deflection off of teammate Alex Muyl and calmly finished his chance. With questions arising about the number 9 position, now would be a good time for Sapong to go on a scoring run.
SUBS
Anibal Godoy (on 77′) – 6.0:  Came off the bench for the second match in a row. This is probably precautionary more than anything, and we should see Godoy return to the starting lineup next match.
Luke Haakenson (on 90′) – 6.0:  Haakenson got on to the field in a limited capacity for the second match in a row. He must be impressing in training recently.
Aké Loba (on 90′) – 6.0:  Loba once again saw the field, but in a limited amount of time. I’m sure we won’t discuss this at all in the latest episode of Speedway Soccer.
Ethan Zubak (on 90′) – 6.0:  Made his Nashville debut as a late sub, but didn’t have much to make an impact as the game was well decided by the time he was introduced.
MANAGER
Gary Smith – 8.0: That’s two wins in a row for Smith’s side with the 3-4-3 formation. Unlike the last match against Columbus, where Nashville sat back and absorbed pressure from Columbus, it chased the match when conceding early and posted its highest xG (2.84) since Real Salt Lake. The difference is, they were able to finish their chances (even despite missing the penalty).
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.
