Nashville SC made things interesting, grabbing a late stoppage-time goal for the second match in a row, this time to preserve a 1-1 draw against Montreal Impact Saturday.
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 – 7.3: Most shots that Willis faced were comfortable saves, but was a bit unfortunate on the deflected header that he conceded.
Daniel Lovitz – 7.5: Put in a corner that saw Abu Danladi just miss an opportunity on his back-post run from Dave Romney’s flick-on, but did his job with his crosses.
Dave Romney – 7: Romney was actually heavely involved on the offensive side, tied with Hany Mukhtar with four shots.
Jack Maher – 8.3: Getting his second start in a row, Maher was once again solid in the back. He also contributed the assist for the late equalizer on a perfect cross to the back post.
Alistar Johnston – 7.3: Completed 92% of his passes and won 67% of his duels before being subbed off. Another excellent contribution by the young Canadian.
Dax McCarty – 7: McCarty was surprisingly effective on some set pieces, barely missing a header on a freekick early in the first half, and then another on a corner kick that forced an awkward save.
Anibal Godoy – 7.5: Had a deflected shot that could’ve easily gone in, but was also at fault for not properly picking Struna on his header.
Alex Muyl – 6.5: Another lackluster performance from Muyl, who looked tentative in his passes and decision-making. Perhaps a rest is needed for someone who is one of the leaders in MLS in ground covered.
Hany Mukhtar – 6.5: Really whipped in some great set pieces and led the side in key passes with six. However, none of his four shots were on target.
Luke Haakenson – 6.5: Haakenson got his first MLS start after his two-goal performance against Toronto. Was not as impactful in this match as the previous, but still put in a good shift.
CJ Sapong – 6.5: Sapong’s only shot contribution was a screamer a few yards outside the 18. He’ll need to show a bit more if he’s going to keep his starting position up top.
SUBS
Brian Anunga – 7: Good to see Anunga back in action after returning from injury. Did his normal job of controlling the middle and distributing the ball.
Abu Danladi – 8: Lead the way in shots on target after making his appearance, which were all quality chances. Of course, one of them did happen to fall with the late equalizer on a back-post run for the header.
Randall Leal – 6.8: Leal was called from the bench this go-around, perhaps with the idea of getting him some rest.
Daniel Rios – 6.8: Another player Nashville fans have eagerly been awaiting the return of, Rios should help provide some much-needed finishing ability once he’s got some more match minutes in him.
Walker Zimmerman – 6.3: Zimmerman made a return as a sub after missing Wednesday’s match due to the birth of his baby boy. His aerial presence was sorely missed, as evident from the conceded set-pieces over the last two games, as well as a great flick on to Danladi for an opportunity at an equalizer.
MANAGER
Gary Smith – : An interesting match for Smith’s side, who were dominant the vast majority, conceded a goal they provided shouldn’t have, and was erratic in his substitution pattern. Ultimately, it paid off due to Danladi’s late equalizer, and yes, they are currently in 6th in the eastern conference, but there have to be questions raised about Nashville’s killer instinct in the final third (again).
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!
