Starting XI

GK: Sean Johnson

Grade: D

I’m sorry, Sean. But that own goal was both extremely costly and foolish. And we gotta punish costly and foolish mistakes.

RCB: Maxime Chanot

Grade: C+

Solid. Nothing great, but damn solid. The Luxembourg defender did a valiant job in an unusual wide position and wasn’t the cause of much, if any stress.

CB: James Sands

Grade: B

Even in a game where New York City FC wound up conceding 3 goals, the Sandman was his usual beastly self in the middle of a back-three. The NYCFC Academy product did extremely well on recovery runs and overall making up for the absolute dead weight lined up to his immediate left. Speaking of which...

LCB: Tony Rocha

Grade: F

Boy, was this bad. Of the two goals that Minnesota United actually scored (not including the one SeanJohn scored on himself), both of them came about from the Loons’ right winger Ethan Finlay completely exploiting and embarrassing Rocha on the left side of City’s defense.

If this guy ever makes another team sheet over a player like Jonathan Lewis, Keaton Parks, Juan Pablo Torres, or even Joe Scally, I might actually riot.

RDM: Alexander Ring

Grade: C+

The Ringmaster was decent in this one, but seemed to lack the presence in the midfield we’re accustomed to seeing from him. Bonus points for absolutely clowning Osvaldo Alonso in late goings, though!

LDM: Ebenezer Ofori

Grade: C-

Was Ofori bad on Saturday? No. But he definitely wasn’t very good, either. The Ghanaian seemed invisible for most of the match, apart from when his back pass preceded the aforementioned own goal from Sean Johnson. But that wasn’t Ebe’s fault, so I’ll give him a pass this once and allow him to just squeak by with a passing grade.

RM: Anton Tinnerholm

Grade: C+

TinnerBoom was definitely more present than we’ve seen in previous weeks against the Loons. But still, I can’t help but wonder if there’s something in the tank that isn’t being unleashed.

LM: Ronald Matarrita

Grade: B-

If there is any justification for giving the 3-5-2 (or 3-4-3) another shot in the future, Mata’s performance should definitely be on the list. The dynamic Costa Rican full-back was good all game at both the LM and LB positions, and had a positive performance on both ends of the ball.

It wasn’t stunning, but it was good.

CAM: Maxi Moralez

Grade: B-

The returning playmaker definitely seemed to be a difference maker in building up the attack. Still, I doubt this performance from Maxi will make any of the highlight reels. Good, not great (you seeing a trend here?).

RS: Ismael Tajouri-Shradi

Grade: A

Boss status. Complete, 100% boss status!

Izzy was a force all game: two goals and an assists. This was everything we know the Libyan to be capable of. And it should definitely set him up for more minutes down the line.

LS: Taty Castellanos

Grade: A+

I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t see this one coming. But following months of criticism from pundits, Taty delivered a performance of the highest order against Minnesota. In a game that featured a goal (could’ve been two) and a delicious back-heel assist, Taty earns MotM honors from me. Terrific outing for the young Argentinean.

Substitutions

LW: Alexandru Mitrita

Grade: C

The Romanian was subbed on for the struggling Rocha at the beginning of the second half, changing the formation to a more traditional 4-3-3. Unfortunately for City’s newest DP, this wasn’t something to write home about.

Though he was able to get in behind from time to time, the final product never looked all too great for Mitrita. We hope this is just a temporary setback and that he can finally start banging them in in the near future.

RW: Jesus Medina

Grade: D

Another day, another listless performance for the youngest of NYCFC’s three DP’s. I don’t want to say I’ve completely given up on Medina just yet. But I think it’s very possible, if not likely that he was perhaps over-valued by City before coming to the States.

ST: Héber

Grade: N/A

NYCFC’s newest signing was brought on pretty late for the injured Castellanos, therefore I think it would be unfair for me to give him a grade based on that alone.

But I think it’s extremely likely he gets his first start with the club next week. So look out for that!

Do you agree with our ratings? How would you grade the Boys this Saturday? Let us know in the comments!