It wasn’t their best performance, but New York City FC did enough to get past FC Cincinnati and advance in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
It’s hard to miss the similarities between Game 3 and Game 1 of this series, both scoreless NYCFC performances at TQL Stadium, though this set of player ratings is much more positive than those that followed the Game 1 loss.
That’s likely down to the rare shutout by the New York City defense, and the positive result of that topsy-turvy penalty kick shootout, which NYCFC won in the ninth round of kicks.
Oliver Strand
You rewarded winning penalty kicker Mitja Ilenič and the rest of the New York City defensive line for keeping a first clean sheet since late July, as the average rating for the team’s four defensive starters was a sparkling 7.9.
There were some wide disparities between your ratings and what these players earned from FotMob‘s system, with the Hudson River Blue rating far higher in a few cases – which is likely again down to that penalty kick shootout, as in, FotMob didn’t account for it but you did.
One player without much of a ratings divergence: Matt Freese. The goalkeeper rated 9.1 at FotMob and a stunning 9.7 here in these ratings, the highest score given to a New York City FC player in the history of these reader-generated player ratings.
Read on for more on Freese’s latest masterpiece, plus a spotlight on the team’s rock at the base of midfield, James Sands, who did a lot of lesser-heralded work in the middle that helped keep Cincy scoreless before again showing off his confidence and calm while on penalty kick duty.
Note: FotMob ratings are in parentheses.
Alonso Martínez, off 86′ (5.8) – 6.7
Santiago Rodríguez (6.3) – 6.9
Hannes Wolf, off 75′ (6.7) – 6.3
Maxi Moralez (7.0) – 7.2
Keaton Parks (6.9) – 7.1
James Sands (7.6) – 8.2
Mitja Ilenič (6.5) – 8.3
Kevin O’Toole (7.6) – 7.2
Thiago Martins (7.3) – 8.0
Justin Haak (6.7) – 8.1
Matt Freese (9.1) – 9.7
Andrés Perea, on 75′ (6.1) – 6.5
Mounsef Bakrar, on 86′ (n/a) – 6.2
Player Spotlight
James Sands
In Game 3 he led all players with 11 ball recoveries and was the team’s second most accurate passer, his 85.4% completion rate just slightly behind Thiago Martins at 87%, according to the Opta match stats available at FBRef.com.
Sands filled the defensive stat sheet while helping keep the team’s first clean sheet in 15 matches, responsible for three blocks, two interceptions, and two tackles.
FotMob rated him a 7.6, and you had The Guy from Rye at 8.2, the second-highest rating among New York City’s outfield players. Across his last seven matches dating back to when he scored his first-ever NYCFC goal to steal a draw at the death against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF, Sands has averaged a 7.6 rating from FotMob and a 7.5 in the HRB player ratings.
That performance at a packed Yankee Stadium against Messi and company – dramatic late equalizer included – seems to have sent Sands on a great run of form, which has also coincided with a strong run of results that has New York City back in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Sands also showed off his nerves of steel when Game 3 went to penalties, burying his kick immediately after Cincinnati’s Pavel Bucha had his shot saved by Freese to give NYCFC a shootout advantage. It was also a significant positive that Sands did not get a yellow card in this game, because if he did he would have been suspended for the playoff Hudson River Derby that’s to come in the next round.
New York City will need Sands to keep playing at this level in what’s sure to be a frantic game at Citi Field against the Red Bulls.
Hudson River Blue Staff
Nick Cushing – 7.6
Just the two substitutes made, with the manager riding what he considers his best Starting XI for as long as he could in a must-win game and getting rewarded for it. Cushing looks supremely vindicated for sticking with Justin Haak in central defense and for how he and assistant coach Rob Vartughian approached the penalties that followed the 0-0 draw.
After the game, Cushing said Maxi Moralez was set to be the last penalty kicker for NYCFC because of lingering injury issues with his quad. Cushing still kept Maxi out there for all 90 minutes to see out the draw, but avoided the temptation to ask his less-than-100% club legend to try to be a hero from the penalty spot, a place that’s caused Moralez problems at other high-profile moments of his NYCFC career.
The 7.6 rating is one of Cushing’s highest, which is nice because the match was also played on his 40th birthday and we wouldn’t want to be writing about some low 3.6 score and a season-ending loss ruining the celebration.
Drew Fischer – 6.6
He’s the MLS Referee of the Year and nothing that he did at TQL Stadium made that seem like a mistake. He put Keaton Parks in his book very early on, showing the NYCFC midfielder a yellow for a reckless challenge in the 11th minute, but that didn’t turn this into a foul-and-card-heavy match. No highly controversial decisions over the rest of the match, so a relatively high rating from our readers who are in too good of a mood about advancing to even hate on the ref.
Player of the Match
Matt Freese
Four saves to keep a clean sheet over 90 minutes, then three saves made in a penalty shootout with your team’s season on the line: That’s coming up big, and that’s what Matt Freese did in Game 3 in Cincinnati to become your Player of the Match.
This is the 10th time he’s earned that honor so far this season. Freese was a clear consensus choice, earning 85% of the Player of the Match votes and thus ensuring a comfortable win in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
The 9.7 rating, as mentioned above, is the highest ever given to a New York City player since we started having our readers rate the players after every match, and it’s not even that much of a departure from the 9.1 rating Freese got from FotMob.
Scores in the 9s are not super common in our player ratings, as this is just the 10th time this season a player was at 9.0 or above, with Freese’s 9.7 slightly eclipsing the 9.5 Alonso Martínez received after he scored that lightning-fast late hat trick in the win over the Wooden Spoon “winning” San Jose Earthquakes.
Freese made his biggest saves inside regulation to stop dangerous shots from Luca Orellano, in both the 31st and 74th minutes. The three shootout saves were strong stonewalls of penalties aimed right at the keeper’s ideal height, and confirmed what Freese said in his pre-Game 2 press conference when asked by HRB editor Oliver Strand about the prospect of there being a PK shootout during the series.
“For penalties, I think it’s one of my strengths, definitely confident in my ability to do…if that moment happens, confident to go out there and do my thing and make sure I’m relaxed in the moment and let my athleticism take over and trust in the work Rob [Vartughian, assistant coach] and I have done beforehand,” Freese said.
Freese delivered on that confidence and was the biggest reason why NYCFC are into the next playoff round. Once again we are asking: How did he not make the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year shortlist? Even if Kristijan Kahlina of Charlotte FC is the likely winner (and the player who got my vote, full disclosure), Matt Freese statistically was Kahlina’s runner-up all through the MLS regular season.
The playoffs don’t get factored into awards voting, but Freese has been one of the league’s three best goalkeepers all season long and his performance in this playoff upset of FC Cincinnati has only underscored that.
The Iceman most definitely should be on the shortlist for keeper of the year. Wonder if the snubs just motivate him even more?