Player Ratings: Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1-0 Birmingham Legion

Overall, it was a miserable performance Saturday evening; there’s no way to sugarcoat that. Here are the Forge’s rather painful assessments: 

GK: MATT VAN OEKEL – 8. Making 7 saves says a lot about a keeper. It also says a lot about the rest of the team. The only bad aspect of Matt’s game was his poor passing accuracy – 38.7%. Still, he is the clear choice for Man of the Match. 

LB: MIKEY LOPEZ – 6. Mikey was relatively active in this game. His 59.5% success rate in passing was poor, as was losing 8 of 15 duels. He had one blocked shot, which also counted as a chance, but no other attacking actions. Defensively, he logged 4 tackles, 1 clearance, 1 block and 1 interception. 

CB: PHANUEL KAVITA – 7. One of the Legion’s better field players Saturday. A 74.2% completion rate on 31 passes (a pretty low total for a center back, it must be said), 8 of 10 duels won, 3 tackles, 4 clearances and 3 interceptions. A yellow card, but it was for a completely phantom foul. 

CB: ALEX CROGNALE – 6. 54 passes for a very weak 51.9% accuracy. 7 of 10 duels won, though, along with 1 tackle, a hefty 7 clearances and 3 interceptions. The 2 center backs were under assault the entire game. 

RB: JONNY DEAN – 5. After a great game Wednesday, Jonny regressed badly. Just 24 of 43 passes connected. 1 tackle, 2 clearances and 2 interceptions were decent, as was winning 2 of a surprisingly low 3 duels. In attack, though, just 1 unsuccessful cross.

LW: MARLON SANTOS – 5. In 56 minutes Marlon tried just 14 passes, connecting on 7. In attack he had just 1 blocked shot. Defensively he was unusually active, losing 6 of 11 duels, and recording 3 tackles, 1 block and 1 interception. 

LM: ANDERSON ASIEDU – 5. An uncharacteristically poor game by Ando. For a start, he was covering Daniel Griffin on the goal. He also attempted just 24 passes, with only 18 of them good. Ando came out on top in 2 of 8 duels, had one blocked shot, and blocked one himself. 

RM: ZACH HERIVAUX – 6. 39 passes in 86 minutes is modest, and finishing 29 of them likewise. He won 5 of 11 duels, had 1 tackle, 2 clearances and 1 interception. Also created 1 chance in attack, although I frankly don’t remember it. 

RW: PROSPER KASIM – 5. Very similar numbers to Marlon on the left, although he played 22 minutes longer. 55.2% accurate on 29 passes, 1 shot off target and 1 blocked, lost 6 of 10 duels and had 3 tackles and 1 block. 

CAM: ENZO MARTINEZ – 6. A decidedly subpar game from Enzo. 62.5% accurate on 24 passes, 2 shots off frame and 1 blocked. Even in an advanced attacking role he was forced into defensive play, losing 6 of 10 duels and providing 1 tackle, 1 clearance, 1 block and 1 interception. Subbed out for once after 86 minutes. 

FWD: JUAN AGUDELO – 6. A striker is always dependent on service from the rest of the team, but even so, no shots in 82 minutes over 2 straight games doesn’t cut it. He did however create 2 chances. 

SUB: EDI HORVAT – 7. 34 official minutes, replacing Juan. In that time he made 7 passes, connecting on 3 (but as striker that’s not really his job). 2 shots though, both off frame, which is better than can be said for the starting lineup.  

SUB: JAKE RUFE – 5. Subbed in for Marlon in an odd switch. Jake was rather outpaced by the Pittsburgh wing and lost both his duels. Good on 6 of 10 passes and had 1 successful cross. Otherwise nothing. 

SUB: BRUNO LAPA – 5. In 12 official minutes Bruno showed just how tired he was after Wednesday’s game. Good on 3 of 8 passes and 1 unsuccessful cross. 

SUB: THOMAS VACAEYEZEELE – N/A. Brought on for Zach with 4 minutes left in a straight swap of defensive midfielders. Too late to help. 

SUB: RYAN JAMES – N/A. Came on with Thomas in relief of Enzo, likewise too late. 

HC: TOMMY SOEHN – 5. What looked a potentially powerful lineup ended up toothless. The 4-4-2 was a mistake, and the substitutions once again seemed to make little sense. We know what works; why won’t he use it?