Harrison, NJ– Lots of buildup, plenty of time on the ball, but just five shots on goal for New York in their 2-2 draw with Colorado on Wednesday night. The player ratings judge the Red Bulls on the previous match, using a scale of 1 to 10. A rating of ‘1’ is an abysmal performance marred by frequent mistakes while a ‘5’ would be a player who had a very average, routine game. A ‘10’ performance would be a world class showing.
WATCH:Full match highlights
A look at the player ratings from the tie with the defending MLS Cup champions:
GK – Greg Sutton: Hard to fault the keeper on either goal as he saved the penalty kick and the ensuing rebound was tapped in and the second goal was a breakdown of the wall. Even if he was flat-footed on the second goal, he made save after big save, particularly in the second half. Rating: 7.5
D – Jan Gunnar Solli: Not a bad night defensively from Solli who was solid in his positioning and got stuck-in on the counterattack. Without a speedy Dane Richards in front of him, he got the chance to overlap and served in some quality crosses. Rating: 6.5
D – Carlos Mendes: Stayed at home and did some dirty work. No major gaffes, won his battles and played safe with possession. Rating: 6
D – Tim Ream: A nice goal line save in the 77th minute highlighted a good night from Ream. Nothing flashy, just solid play as he heads off to the national team for the Gold Cup. Rating: 6
D – Roy Miller: Tried to do some good things on the ball in terms of possession buildup and was okay for the most part in his marking. Positioning was off when the Rapids settled in and seemed to struggle with their physical play. Rating: 5.5
M – Teemu Tainio: A second consecutive quiet outing for the holding midfielder. Some good passing out of the back but got caught too high when the Rapids hit on the counterattack. Rating: 5.5
M – Mehdi Ballouchy: Not a winger, Ballouchy should still be praised for filling in for Dane Richards. Tracked back well, smart passing and overall decent movement. Not a bad match at all. Rating: 6
M – Dwayne De Rosario: Very active in the final third, De Rosario seemed more in sync than the forwards in the flow of the match. Good vision on the game’s first goal, would still like to see more creativity and distribution from the midfielder. Rating: 6.5
M – Joel Lindpere: Floated in and out of the match on the left side, but made smart choices when he got the ball. Lacked interchange with Miller on the overlap as the left back rarely moved forward at opportune times. Do want to see Lindpere take more defenders on the dribble. Rating: 6
F – Thierry Henry: Last week’s knee injury clearly hampered the player, but had a well-taken goal to equalize the score at 1-1. Seemed to struggle to get into the game due to the nagging injury. Rating: 6
F – Luke Rodgers: Seemed dangerous though he was perpetually flagged for being offsides. Well-taken goal to level it at 2-2 and could have scored another but for a heroic save from the keeper (and a nudge in the back from a Rapids defender). Rating: 6.5
Substitutions
F – Juan Agudelo: 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
