New York City FC player ratings are determined by you, the Hudson River Blue readers: Here are the NYCFC player ratings from the frenetic 1-0 loss to Supporters’ Shield-winning Philadelphia Union on Saturday.
Coming off their dazzling three-goal derby performance last Saturday, New York City FC seemed poised to deliver some offensive firepower in this matchup against regional rival Philadelphia Union. Instead, the Boys in Blue were held scoreless after a few botched shots on crucial scoring opportunities. It’s no surprise, then, that you let the players have it with mediocre ratings of 5s and 6s across the board – save for goalkeeper Matt Freese’s 7.5 rating – and a squad average of 5.7.
Sure, Philadelphia’s stingy defense deserves much of the credit here. But the hosts also made mistakes that NYCFC just didn’t exploit.
Alonzo MartĂnez set the scoreless tone early, missing a near-open net just one minute into the match following a fantastic set of passes from Justin Haak, Kevin O’Toole, and Hannes Wolf, who touched the ball to Martinez in the box. MartĂnez did well to beat the keeper, but his subsequent missed shot would haunt his club for the rest of the match.
And not to pick on the guy, but it was a MartĂnez turnover just two minutes later that required Freese’s first brilliant save of the night on a diving stop near post. With such goalkeeping prowess on display – and for a player coming off a concussion injury no less – it’s fair to surmise that Freese could also have denied the lone goal he conceded, had it not come off a deflection.
It’s no wonder that it was the goalkeeper extraordinaire who earned his sixth Player of the Match vote in a taut match with playoff-like intensity. Freese will need to maintain that level of play for New York City to shine come playoffs.
Note: FotMob ratings are in parentheses.
Alonso MartĂnez, off 59′ (5.9) – 5.1
Nico Fernández Mercau (6.0) – 5.7
Hannes Wolf, off 78′ (6.7) – 5.2
Maxi Moralez, off 87′ (7.1) – 5.5
Andrés Perea (6.5) – 5.6
Justin Haak (6.2) – 5.7
Kevin O’Toole, off 46′ (6.6) – 4.5
Tayvon Gray, off 59′ (6.3) – 5.4
Raul Gustavo (7.1) – 5.7
Thiago Martins (6.8) – 6.4
Matt Freese (7.2) – 7.5
Aiden O’Neill, on 46′ (6.6) – 6.2
Mitja IleniÄŤ, on 59′ (6.3) – 5.4
AgustĂn Ojeda, on 59′ (6.6) – 6.1
Julián Fernández, on 78′ (6.7) – 5.6
Máximo Carrizo, on 87′ (N/A) – 5.8
Player Spotlight
Nico Fernández
It’s nice that Nico Fernández received one of the higher ratings here, but it’s questionable whether he actually deserves it.
After all, it was his miscue on not issuing a one-touch pass to Máximo Carrizo on his head-of-steam run into the right wing of the box that resulted in an offsides call and disallowed goal. By all appearances, the momentum of the play fairly demanded that Nico simply one-two the ball to Carrizo on his incoming ready-to-score run. This one-touch pass would have prevented Carrizo from being offside and quite possibly have led to the 17-year-old scoring a glorious goal. Instead, Nico held onto the ball for three touches as Carrizo’s overlapping run landed him offside, and the goal called back.
Hudson River Blue Staff
It is sometimes unfair to question a player’s choices on the break when there are multiple effective options at their disposal and split-second decisions to be made, but on this particular play, there was one very clear option that had to be taken for NYCFC to remain on sides with scoring in their eyes. Nico not taking that one-touch option cost his club an equalizer.
Moreover, Nico’s late-match off-target header from eight yards out on a perfect cross from Julián Fernádez – who utterly schooled two defenders on route, by the way – furthers the head-scratching relatively high 5.7 rating he received.
Andrew Leigh
Pascal Jansen – 5.3
Despite the middling rating, Coach Jansen did still have some wise calls on the night. His 87th-minute substitute of Máximo Carrizo nearly had the makings of genius when the youngster appeared ready to score moments later. And not overplaying MartĂnez, who is newly back from injury, will bode well down the stretch, as the team looks towards their Decision Day matchup against Seattle Sounders on October 18.
Jon Freemon – 5.5
Player of the Match
Matt Freese
A clear choice yet again, Freese earns his sixth Player of the Match honor this season with 50% of the vote. Freese’s acrobatic saves in the 4th, 10th, 17th, and 57th minutes were also morale boosters for the squad in both avoiding going down in a deeper hole, and in knowing that you have such athletic excellence protecting your goal.
On the other hand, having a goalkeeper earn the most POTM nods is not ideal for any club seeking offensive glory.
0:00
Matt Freese comes through for NYCFC | Courtesy MLS and Apple TV
A 27-year-old with recent United States national men’s team heroics under his belt, Freese is growing as a field general. It’s fun to marvel at what heights his already top-flight game has yet to reach. At times, though, it seems that Freese’s superior vision and intellect for the game can lead to frustration with how things actually transpire on the pitch. (See: The positioning mistakes and defensive misreads of his teammates.) Freese will need to channel his competitive fire and rein in any potential in-match inter-squad pique for his leadership to fully flourish.
While the Pigeons need to put the ball in the back of the net for a successful playoff run – and not rely on a defensive stalwart alone – Freese is their ace in the hole when things get tight.
