After every match this season, the staff here at The Bent Musket will be putting together player ratings. Ratings are on a 1-10 scale, with 5 representing a thoroughly average performance, and 6 a decent/capable showing. The final ratings will be averages of individual ratings from Steve Stoehr, Matty Jollie, and Abram Chamberlain. Brendan Schimmel is sitting out due to his Rebellion commitments.
Bobby Shuttleworth: Average Rating - 5.375 (Steve 5.5, Corey 5, Matty 5, Abram 6)
Steve: Good in the air, which is what he was in for. Not many keepers could save that goal, either...Corey: Average all around. Handled the easy stuff. Didn't have the luxury of having a confident back-line in front of him for this one...Matty: Handled his business, had a make-shift CB pairing after the Macca sub, and you saw how that impacted things...Abram: Thought he was actually very good, even with the loss the goalkeeping controversy will continue.
Chris Tierney: Average Rating - 5.175 (Steve 5, Corey 5.5, Matty 5, Abram 5)
Steve: Solid defensively but his service was off. Still better than Benny on that front, though...Corey: Had an okay game, but was a contributor to the Revs' poor set pieces. Some corners were okay, but others poor...Matty: Service needs to be better, but great job holding the line when Revs went to 3-5-2...Abram: Interesting watching him work with a three man backline later in the game.
A.J. Soares: Average Rating - 6.75 (Steve 6.5, Corey 7, Matty 7, Abram 6.5)
Steve: Great all night, distribution maybe a tad off, but otherwise exceptional...Corey: Pretty good game actually, when you think about it. Made some big stops. Took out Koevermans without even fouling him. Involved in the attack. Played off-side trap well. Lone CB for a lot of the 2nd half with Joseph pushing up. Very good game...Matty: Huge game. Strong, big effort at the back as Revs pushed for goal...Abram: Very big game.
Stephen McCarthy: Average Rating - N/A
Kevin Alston: Average Rating - 4.875 (Steve 5, Corey 4.5, Matty 5, Abram 5)
Steve: His man scored the goal, but he was far from solely at fault. Otherwise average...Corey: Bad game. Minus the one big-time stop late in the second half, Alston looked pretty typical. This game really showed how one dimensional he can be...Matty: Constantly coming forward, but did a nice job tracking back to chase down Johnson, one of the fastest strikers in the league...Abram: Did well containing Johnson.
Lee Nguyen: Average Rating - 6.75 (Steve 7, Corey 7, Matty 6.5, Abram 6.5)
Steve: Lively and dynamic, but should have put a chance away. Still the game's best performer...Corey: Obvious MOTM, worked his ass off. Would like to grade him higher, but the 4 or 5 shots he had needed to be better. Should probably start considering him to take our free kicks, got closer than anyone else...Matty: MoTM. Other than Benny, the only Rev that looked dangerous. Biggest asset to his game is his ability to create his own shot like a shooting guard...Abram: You can look at the second half in two ways. It's either Lee trying to will the team to victory or Lee being a ball hog. I'm not sure which side of the pendulum I swing towards.
Clyde Simms: Average Rating - 6.75 (Steve 6.5, Corey 7.5, Matty 7, Abram 6)
Steve: Calm and assured, big defensive asset in midfield...Corey: Total workhorse. Looked to be back to full fitness. HUGE part of this game only being 1-0. Knows where he is needed at all times, covers for others constantly. Just a huge, great game for him...Matty: Once again Clyde goes un-noticed because he does his job so well...Abram: Did what he does.
Benny Feilhaber: Average Rating - 6.25 (Steve 6, Corey 6, Matty 6.5, Abram 6.5)
Steve: Had a couple of killer through balls and some good movement, but abhorrent on set pieces...Corey: Nice game. Was pretty dangerous. But inconsistent at times, and just dreadful on free kicks...Matty: Silky smooth all night. His through balls unlocked the defense well, and I loved the sexy back-heel flick on Shalrie's hand of God...Abram: Benny nearly putting his corner kick into the net late in the game was incredible.
Fernando Cardenas: Average Rating - 3.5 (Steve 3, Corey 3, Matty 4, Abram 3.5)
Steve: Perhaps the most abysmal performance by a Revs player yet. Zero positioning sense, contributed little on the ball, horrible passing, only threatened goal once. I want to find something redeemable here, but I can't...Corey: Terrible game. 'Nuff said...Matty: Totally forgot he played. He's a super sub in my mind...Abram: He is my current favorite Rev, but he seemed nearly invisible this game further proving my opinion that he is best used as a late game sub.
Blake Brettschneider: Average Rating - 4 (Steve 4, Corey 4, Matty 4, Abram 4)
Steve: Bad touch, contributed more to TFC's attack and defense than his own...Corey: Totally ineffective. Couldn't connect on anything. I like the kid but this was not his game...Matty: Got the bad BB in this one. Didn't link well, runs weren't effective...Abram: Was shocked to see him starting, didn't hold the ball that well, which is his job in this system.
Saer Sene: Average Rating - 4.75 (Steve 5, Corey 4.5, Matty 4.5, Abram 5)
Steve: Frustrating. Some good dribbles and one amazing ball to Nguyen, but looked ineffective drifting wide...Corey: Poor performance. Killed way too many opportunities once he got the ball into the box. Had a couple nice passes and a few decent plays, but on the whole had a poor game...Matty: Completely different player when he drifts into midfield play. If he was a physics equation it would read something like "Sene's effectiveness is directly proportionate to how deep he is in the midfield". The deeper he drops, the more useless he is, it seems...Abram: Again he didn't score, easily muscled off the ball, looks to be getting very frustrated with being the focal point of other teams' defenses.
Shalrie Joseph (sub): Average Rating - 5.25 (Steve 5.5, Corey 5.5, Matty 5.5, Abram 4.5)
Steve: Looked really shaky at first, but settled in well, would rather see him stay calm than get in those off-ball tussles, though...Corey: Was very involved. Took him a while to get settled on the back-line, but not entirely his fault. Don't know why he thought he could just slap the ball into the net at the end there...Matty: Not a CB. Pushed forward to center of the midfield and was a little more active there. Still looks a step slow, may be impeding Revs in their new style of play...Abram: Needs to do better, especially in end game situations. Hand ball was inexcusable.
Jerry Bengtson (sub): Average Rating - 4.875 (Steve 4.5, Corey 4.5, Matty 5, Abram 5.5)
Steve: Lackluster performance. Looked less connected with his teammates than he did last week...Corey: Expected much, much more from our new DP. Clearly needs more time adjusting to the team and MLS in general...Matty: Tough to overcome a goal in your debut, so expectations were far too high. He also drifted back too deep at times...Abram: Again looked dangerous a lot, but is obviously still meshing with the team.
Diego Fagundez (sub): Average Rating - 4.25 (Steve 4.5, Corey 4, Matty 4.5, Abram 4)
Steve: Can't be a hero every week, unfortunately...Corey: Played for 20+ minutes and barely made a peep. Had maybe two chances but nothing significant. Struggled to get involved...Matty: Tough time getting into the act, but his touch and vision were good on the few contributions he made...Abram: Good use of the sub, in theory, but Diego was constantly pushed around by a very tight Toronto backline.