Nashville SC lost its first match since Sept. 18, falling 1-0 to Philadelphia Union 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 – 6: Had some decent saves, but was unfortunate to have to deal with a penalty that was the lone goal in the match.
Dave Romney – 7.3: Won six duels and had five clearances to his name.
Jack Maher – 6.3: Had a 92% pass accuracy, but was subbed off to start the second half in favor of Zimmerman
Alistar Johnston – 6.5: Johnston only had one accurate cross out of his nine, but did win half of his duels.
Taylor Washington – 6: With Lovitz still sidelined, Washington kept his starting role at left-back and winger for his 100th appearance for the club. His passing accuracy left little to be desired (74%), and only had one accurate long ball out of his three. Was unfortunate to give up a penalty for a handball which he knew little about.
Eric Miller – 6.3: Played on the right of the back three, and put in a solid defensive shift, if his passing left a little to be desired.
Anibal Godoy – 7.5: Controlled the midfield well, winning seven duels and hit seven accurate long balls.
Brian Anunga – 6.8: Anunga also did a great job in the midfield, winning seven of his own duels and had a few tackles registered to his name.
Daniel Rios – 5.3: Had to be subbed off 30 minutes into the match after picking up a knock.
Randall Leal – 6.8: Moved centrally for this match as opposed to his normal role a bit wider, but only had one shot that was blocked. Did connect on two key passes and had an 85% success rate on his passes.
Ake Loba – 5.3: Loba had zero shots and only touched the ball 21 times. The Nashville fan base certainly wants to believe in his talent considering the price tag, but he’ll have to do better with his starting opportunities moving forward.
SUBS
CJ Sapong – 5.8: Sapong was called in after Rios’ injury. Had a couple of shots, including one on target, but was only successful in one-third of his dribble attempts.
Walker Zimmerman – 6.8: Played the second half of the match and registered an 86% passing accuracy, as well as won five duels.
Abu Danladi – 6: Danladi saw action for the first time in a couple of matches. Had one key pass, but did not register a shot.
Dylan Nealis – 6: It was also Nealis’ first minutes in a few months, as he came in to relieve Washington.
Jhonder Cadiz – 6: Came in late in the match and only registered one shot.
MANAGER
Gary Smith – 6: The squad rotation was evident considering the contest was on the road against a Union side also battling for playoff positioning, as well as Hany Mukhtar serving a yellow card accumulation suspension, but perhaps Smith is looking ahead to the contest in Cincinnati where picking up three points is much more manageable. Either way, it wasn’t ideal for him to have to sub off Rios so early in the match, but the first loss in over a month should be commended. It won’t be if Nashville slips out of its second-place spot and find itself on the road in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
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.
