Sporting Kansas City vs Portland Timbers: Player Ratings
Who shone despite the darkness and felt right at home in the dreary Portland weather.
It was a pretty normal season opener, meaning both teams looked a little disjointed and it was cold outside. Let’s take a quick look at how each Sporting Kansas City player fared in the 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers.
Before we get to the ratings, I would like to describe my scale:
1 – Never play again. You shall be cursed for your travesties to the fifth generation.
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5 – Your game was completely harmless. You are a cream colored wall in an office park building.
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10 – You are the chosen one! They will sing of your talent forever! You are the most interesting man in the world!
Finally, I’m giving all player ratings a grace period at the start of the season. So a 5 today can be a 3 in August. Let us begin!
From XI
Johannes Pulskamp – 6
Pulskamp had some really great saves, including a nice double save just before the start. I probably would have given him a 7 or 8 but the only mistake he made was letting a ball slide right under him and into the net which definitely hurts his score.
Graham Zusi – 5
Graham had a quiet night, it seems Peter Vermes wanted him to stay at home for a bit in the first half and it showed that the right side of the field (also where Khiry was but more on that later) was largely there was invisible before the 70th minute. He delivered a mixed bag of good and bad crosses and didn’t make any major defensive mistakes.
Robert Voloder – 3
Was responsible for a nasty defensive mistake at the beginning of the game, which was only prevented from scoring by Pulskamp’s aforementioned double save. In the second half, too, he struggled with his role as a roaming centre-back as the side chased the equaliser.
Andreu Fontas – 6
Fontas had a solid night defensively, lacking a bit of his sharp passing skills we’re used to, but overall he was solid in his role. He’ll need to stay healthy to anchor that defensive line if Sporting want to make a deep run.
Ben Sweat – 5
Ben Sweat had a terrible error that resulted in the goal but he was also involved in excellent interaction with Thommy and Salloi. In the end it evened out to a 5, although the ups and downs varied from that number. It seemed like he could have continued when he was substituted in the 73rd minute.
Remi Walter – 8 – Man of the Match
Walter was all over the field, catching passes and spinning the ball around. He interrupted several counterattacks and was a constant nuisance for every opposing midfielder. I can’t wait to see what he can do at #8 with a little more scope (assuming Nemanja Radoja can take over the defensive center role soon).
Roger Espinoza – 6th
Roger made a few mistakes and made a lot of clever game changes. While he lacks the ability to eat grass like he used to, it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t still have some great tools up his sleeve. Towards the end of his 70-minute performance, he definitely started to pull. Hopefully Peter will realize that and he won’t be a player to reach 90 at all this year.
Eric Thommy – 7
Had a lot of bright moments and tested the keeper a few times but lacked a bit of discipline to take his chances. I was disappointed to see that he was substituted in the 71st minute as he looked like the team’s most likely goalscorer.
Khiry Shelton – 3
Is it fair to judge Khiry for what he is? I’m not sure, but suffice it to say I wasn’t surprised or pleased with his play. He had a couple of nice interceptions but looked completely clueless as to what to do with the ball when he got the opportunity to shoot.
Willi Agada – 4
Struggled to get the ball throughout the game. And drove his header down a great cross that would have tied things towards the end. I expect we’ll get a better look at Willy because it felt like he was the victim of a lackluster service for most of the night.
Daniel Salloi – 6
Combined well with Sweat, Walter and Thommy but showed some early season rust in front of goal. He had some nice touches that allowed him to beat his opposing full-back throughout the night and overall he worked hard.
subs
Felipe Hernandez – 6
Had about 24 lively and aggressive minutes on the field. He had a nice touch to pick up a yellow and was a much needed boost of pace. Hopefully we’ll see him get more starts.
Marinos Tzionis – 5th
Showed off his excellent feet by regularly dribbling out of tight spaces in his 24-minute performance. Had trouble holding the ball a little too long and not finding the final pass. I would mainly put these problems down to him being played in a different position as an attacking midfielder.
Tim Leibold – 4
While I don’t think Liebold did anything wrong with his sub appearance, I also feel like he didn’t bring new energy. If he were a starter I’d probably give him a 5 but as a substitute you have to come in and push the exhausted opposition.
Coach
Peter Vermes – 4
His team looked unimaginative from set pieces and generated 11 corners, but if I remember correctly they generated zero shots at goals from them. And there’s no way you’re going to convince me that the team was better off leaving Khiry on the field than Thommy was for Tzionis. Overall, his team had more shots and possession and generally looked like the better team. I think you could argue that he deserves a 5, but I weight his rating more for in-game management than general setup.
Diploma
While it wasn’t a spectacular night for the boys in blue, I think there were some promising signs and I tend not to read too much into the first five games of the season. What do you think of my reviews? Who do you think I misunderstood? Let me know in the comments.
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