Nashville SC’s inaugural season saw another milestone when it recorded it’s first home victory, defeating fellow expansion side Inter Miami 1-0 Sunday.
Below are our player ratings for the match.
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 of our evaluation process.
- A rating of 6 denotes and 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 – 7.5: Good performance from Willis. Had a good mix of saves that were both routine and ones that could’ve been goal bound had he stepped the wrong way. He now has three clean sheets on the year.
Daniel Lovitz – 7.5: It’s clear that Lovitz might be the best distributor out of Nashville’s back line. He had some great balls over the top to Badji that were just missing a good touch.
Walker Zimmerman – 7.7: Zimmerman was a constant threat in the air, winning headers on Inter crosses and sending them wayward. A good bounce back performance after his last two outings.
Dave Romney – 7.2: If Lovitz is number one when it comes to distribution out of the back, Romney is 1A. Romney also was crucial in his decision making late in the match with his positioning, helping preserve the victory.
Alistar Johnston – 7.5: Johnston has serious versatility. He can line up as a right back and defend, but also has great crossing ability going forward. Both traits were on full display tonight against Miami.
Brian Anunga – 7.3: Anunga’s debut went really well. He didn’t seem out of place for someone who has played the majority of his young career in the USL ranks. The sky is the limit for the Cameroon international.
Anibal Godoy – 8.7: Far and away the man of match, Godoy was doing his usual Godoy things by controlling the midfield. It didn’t hurt that he contributed the game’s lone goal in quite some fashion.
Alex Muyl – 7.3: Had a great header goal that was called back due to a questionable push in the back that VAR caught. Muyl looks like he’s going to be an offensive threat for Smith’s side after finally settling in.
Randall Leal – 7: Leal’s weight on his passes were very hot and cold. He delivered some gems, but also had a few hospital balls. Then again, he was asked to drift in the middle of the park a ton in the first half, something he’s probably not familiar with.
Abu Danladi – 6.2: Danladi’s excellent performance against Orlando was followed by a bit of a letdown in this match, where his touch and runs were a little off. So much so, that he was subbed off at the half in favor of Hany Mukhar.
Dominique Badji – 6.7: Once again worked hard to get open as a target man, but was heavy on his touches that got away from him.
SUBS
Hany Mukhtar – 6.5: Came on at the half and had some good set pieces, as well as drew a penalty, but did miss said penalty when he smacked the crossbar with his attempt.
Dax McCarty – 6.7: A staple in the starting lineup as captain, McCarty got a well-deserved rest before coming on and seeing some action.
Jalil Anibaba – 6: Brought on late in the match for defensive purposes.
Taylor Washington – 6: A defensive substitution as well for Smith, as he looked to preserve the victory.
Daniel Rios – 6.5: Rios will probably continue to flirt with starter and supporter off the bench moving forward. Hopefully a goal comes out of the coming games to potentially break that rotation.
MANAGER
Gary Smith – 7.8: Smith did a fantastic job with his squad rotation, getting some of his key players who have seen heavy minutes a breather, but also getting them some action off the bench to keep their reps up. A victory is also a nice touch. Look for more squad rotation from Smith due to the congested fixture schedule.
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!
