Starting XI

Sean Johnson

D-

It isn’t often that I have bad things to say about New York City FC’s perennial netminder. But on Sunday, SeanJohn just wasn’t at his best.

While he did have a few key stops in the first half, Johnson struggled mightily in the second and gave up a head scratching goal on a Chris Mueller free kick that should have been easily dealt with.

Cmon, Sean. You’re better than that!

Anton Tinnerholm

D+

I wish I could say more about the Swedish right back. But he was practically invisible in transition against OCSC and his lack of marking lead, in part, to the Lions tying the game late in the second half. “Tinnerboom”, as we’ve come to affectionately call him, will definitely have better games in the future.

Maxime Chanot

C

It is very possible that I’m giving Max way too high a grade for his performance on Sunday, especially given the fact that he probably should have been punished for a hand ball in the box. But apart from that, he had a solid game and got stuck in on some key tackles.

Alex Callens

C+

Like his Luxembourg counterpart, Callens had a solid game, even if it was pretty average by his standards. He made the select few tackles that he needed to make and was overall a decent presence in the box. I guess that’s worthy of a passing grade.

Ben Sweat

D-

I’ve always been one of Sweat’s most outspoken advocates. But this... this ain’t it, chief.

The City left back was constantly caught out on the defensive side of the ball and also failed to assert himself in the offensive third. For that, I gotta give a less-than-stellar grade. Sorry, Ben. (No, really. I’m sorry.)

James Sands

B-

There was little wrong with the Sandman’s performance on Sunday. The NYCFC Academy product was silently brilliant on the defensive side of the midfield all game and consistently put out fires whilst tracking back. He also made a sweet, sweet tackle on one of Nani’s first MLS touches.

Not a lot of flair, but a whole lotta’ good. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the Starting XI again next week.

Alex Ring

B+

The Ringmaster had himself quite an outing in his first game as NYCFC’s first-choice captain, bagging a goal and asserting pressure in the midfield. Overall, it’s hard to find anything he really did wrong this game and for that, he gets a big thumbs up from me.

Ebenezer Ofori

A

If you had told me a few days ago that Ofori would be the best player on the pitch in the season opener, I probably wouldn’t have taken you all that seriously. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even have him penciled in to start this week. But, I’m happy to admit that I was wrong.

Ebe’s bomb of a goal in the 13th minute set the tone for City moving forward and his relentless movement both on and off the ball made him the star of the midfield this weekend.

Jonathan Lewis

B-

J-Lew came out with a fire inside of him on Sunday. His first half was chock-full of impressive dribbles, and he assisted on Ofori’s aforementioned wondergoal. The former Akron product definitely seemed to slow down a bit before being subbed off in the second half, but positive contributions must still be acknowledged.

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Alexandru Mitrita

B-

Of all the performances on Sunday, NYCFC’s newest DP was probably the hardest to gauge. On one hand, Mitrita set up a slew of killer chances with his passing, including a gorgeous assist on Ring’s goal. However, the Romanian winger also committed a fair share of turnovers as he frequently failed to successfully cut inside, especially in the second half when an extra goal was needed.

Overall, a solid performance. But there is definitely room for improvement.

Maxi Moralez

D+

For City’s playmaker, this was definitely a game to forget. Moralez consistently failed to establish himself as a threat on the pitch and he completely bottled a surefire goal late in the second half (Mitrita was open for the lay-off, but Maxi decided to take the shot instead).

In a game that ended in a draw — and should have been a win — failed opportunities are especially scrutinized. And they should be pointed out as to avoid them in the future.

Substitutes

Jesus Medina

D+

I really wish I could say that the Paraguayan DP has done enough to earn himself the starting job. But, quite frankly, he hasn’t. And there wasn’t anything here to prove otherwise.

Keaton Parks

N/A

Honestly, this performance was pretty much impossible to grade. Parks didn’t come on until the 88th minute and had little chance to show much of anything. For that, I’ll spare him a grade.

Tony Rocha

F

I’m not trying to be mean. But... yikes.

The former Orlando City midfielder came on for Sweat in the 77th minute and was consistently out-paced — you could say ‘completely burned’ — at left back. Too often was he out of position and just didn’t show the prowess needed to help make a difference.

Needless to say, I don’t think OCSC misses him all that much.