Player ratings: Week 4, vs San Antonio F.C.

Birmingham Legion traveled out to Texas to take on a highly rated, and very physical, San Antonio F.C. Although Birmingham lost the match, their football looked good in between the multiple whistles blown throughout. Here’s ratings and reactions from a woeful weekend out west.

11: Neco Brett – 8.5 – Another game, another goal. Making a habit of scoring each match should bring a certain sense of comfort to both Brett, and Birmingham. If Neco can start putting them in earlier, maybe he can start putting out multiple goal games soon.

12: Eli Crognale – 6.5 – Covering for an injured Prosper Kasim, Crognale did well overall. He was a bit of a threat on set pieces, but not a huge influence in the match. 

8: Bruno Lapa – 6.5 – Not sure if it was down to San Antonio keeping him quiet, but quiet he was on the evening. Lapa didn’t do much wrong, but that’s because he didn’t do much throughout the match.   

6: Anderson Asiedu – 8.0 – Always strong, Asiedu once again commanded the Legion midfield quite well. His hold up play in possession has always been strong, but now his distribution is improving as well. 

7: Ryan James – 7.0 – His forward play is still improving, but his tracking back and overall defensive play remains top notch. James’ defensive positioning was on view once again, highlighted by his headed goal line clearance.  

3: Phanuel Kavita (C) – 7.0 – Kavita captains the team, and marshals his back line well. A miscommunication led to Phanuel giving up the corner for San Antonio’s second. Other than that he continues to be an ever present rock in Birmingham’s back line. 

22: Ben Ofeimu – 6.5 –  Didn’t really stand out on the night, but still put in a solid defensive shift throughout the evening.

24 Johnathan Dean – 6.5 – Also a bit quiet throughout the match, but his forward play was did look good against a top notch opponent. 

23: J.J. Williams – 7.0 – Not sure midfield is the best spot for J.J. He stays threatening in the attack, but may benefit from having more support behind him.

77: Junior Flemmings – 8.0 – Flemmings is a nightmare going forward. When he’s allowed to play that is. It was a decision to either foul him, or allow him into the attack for the San Antonio defenders who opted mostly for the former on the evening. 

1: Matt Van Oekel – 7.0 – Can’t really be blamed for the first goal, having made a super save just before the ball was poached into the net. However, there were a few mistakes from the keeper throughout the match, that could’ve cost Legion more goals. 

Subs & More

17: Jaden Servania – 7.0 – Always energetic, Servania helped run down the last few San Antonio attacks to keep it at 2-1.

16: Daigo Kobayashi – 7.0 –  Plugged straight into the midfield, and floated in a nice ball that deserved a finish at the end of the match.

4: Frederik Kleemann – 6.5 – A nice little run out on defense. Kleemann seems like he’ll fit into the back line fine when called upon.

20: Zachary Herivaux – 7.0 – An impressive debut against his former club. His first touches against SAFC were straight at goal, showing his full intent going forward.

Coach Soehn – 6.5 – Consistency is key, mostly. I’m a huge fan of continuity, and building partnerships throughout the team. In doing this, Legion have found a way to get a goal nearly every 90 minutes they play too. That being said, something more needs to happen in the attack. With the talent that courses throughout Birmingham’s midfield, I feel Coach Soehn could afford to give up a midfield position for another striker in situations like Saturday. Personally, I would like to see Williams pushed up next to Neco in the attack, and let the likes of Lapa and Flemmings run the midfield.