Harrison, N.J. – Head coach Hans Backe summed up his team’s performance on Sunday night following their 3-2 home loss to Chivas USA as “We played too pretty and too sloppy.” That about sums up a strong display on offense that was offset by some poor defending. A look at the player ratings:
GK – Bouna Coundoul: Perhaps the only goal that Coundoul can be faulted on was the second one of the night when Justin Braun squirmed an effort between the keeper’s legs. Other than that, Coundoul was hung out to dry on the other two goals. He did make the saves he was expected to make; distribution has improved. Rating: 6
D – Jan Gunnar Solli: Highly doubtful that Solli will tweet “Who is Justin Braun?” this week after the Chivas USA forward scored all three goals for the visitors. Solli was soft in defending Braun’s first goal and was out of sorts on the second score. His movement forward was good but not enough to offset the poor defense. Rating: 4.5
D – Rafa Marquez: Wonderful vision on long pass to set-up the first Red Bulls goal, his long pass over the top of the Chivas USA defense a perfect touch. Set pieces were poor but his defensive work was solid. Rating: 6
D – Tim Ream: A quietly solid night for Ream who won his individual battles and made smart passes out of the back. Rating: 6.5
D – Roy Miller: Was caught up field too far several times in the first half then seemed to tire in the second half. Not a poor night in terms of his defense, just a rather quiet evening for Miller who seemed to lack some pep. Rating: 5.5
M – Dane Richards: Repeatedly made runs from the flank and was a consistent pest on the right side of the midfield for Chivas USA. Some good team defense as well, helping to slow down the visitors on the counterattack. Rating: 6
M – Teemu Tainio: Coming off two missed games due to injury, perhaps not a surprise that Tainio seemed to lack some sharpness in distribution. His man-marking in the midfield, however, was rather good. Rating: 6
M – Joel Lindpere: A very active match for Lindpere who found space along the left side of midfield and combined well with the forwards several times. Went close once in each half. Rating: 6.5
M – Dwayne De Rosario: Tallied the Red Bulls first half penalty kick, the club’s first conversion this year on its third try. A quiet evening on offense from De Rosario who still hasn’t seemed to get in sync with the offense. Rating: 6
F - Thierry Henry: His goal was a well-taken effort and moment of individual brilliance, even as the rest of his team seemed to struggle. Great vision to thread the pass across the box to set up the penalty call for the Red Bulls second goal of the game. Rating: 7
F – Luke Rodgers: The English forward should be praised for making the run and drawing the foul that earned New York a penalty, but he struggled this match. While his work rate should be praised, it might be time to look at Juan Agudelo for this weekend in Houston. Rating: 5.5
Substitutions
F – Juan Agudelo: Lots of hard work and hustle in his 20 minutes on the field, typifying a frustrating night for the forward. Agudelo seemed just an inch away from connecting on several opportunities. Rating: 6
M – Mehdi Ballouchy: Entering at the same time as Agudelo, Ballouchy had a hard time getting into the match. His passing lack inventiveness and he was invisible in the final third, not encouraging words for a team looking to equalize when he was subbed in.
D – Stephen Keel: Late substitution does not warrant a rating.
Kristian R. Dyer looks forward to you disagreeing with his ratings. He can be followed at twitter.com/KristianRDyer
