Player Ratings: Birmingham Legion 3-0 Orange County

It’s always nice to get a solid home win. This one was very much a team effort and it was hard to pick out a Man of the Match. We’re going to hand out a couple of Special Mentions as a result.

GK: MATT VAN OEKEL – 7. After seven games out it was good to see MVO back in action. He made 4 saves. Only one was from close enough range to test him. His passing was about as good as normal: 64.9% accurate on 37 attempts.

LB: MOSES MENSAH – 7. As fullbacks go, Moses is not the most mobile player and did not serve ina very advanced role. Still, he made 30 of 33 passes and sent in 1 cross. Defensively he had to make just 3 tackles and 1 interception and won 5 of 7 duels.

CB: A.J. PATERSON – 8. AJ played 60 minutes before having to exit and performed excellently up to that point. He Was good on 42 of 44 passes, had 2 shots on target, created a scoring chance, won 3 of 5 duels and made 2 tackles. Can’t ask for much more than that.

CB: ALEX CROGNALE – 7. Alex generated no attacking threats, but the Legion had just 5 corners in the game, where he is the most dangerous. 1 tackle, 4 clearances (including a key one from the only difficult save MVO made) and 1 interception. 4 of 6 duels won and an 86.4% accuracy rate on 59 passing attempts.

RB: PHANUEL KAVITA – 7. Phanny was pressed into a fullback role, which I don’t recall him ever doing previously for the Legion. He did move to centerback when AJ had to leave the game though. He won just 1 of 7 duels and made only the one tackle. In attack he had a shot on target and was good for 87% accuracy on 23 passes.

LDM: RAMIZ HAMOUDA – 8. Ramiz gets the start and goes 45 minutes. Although he was effectively the defensive half of the double pivot, he actually averaged slightly higher upfield than Kobe (the Legion played a very high block in the first half). He missed on only 1 of his 15 passes (a cross) but was otherwise out of the attack. He won all 3 of his duels and made 3 tackles.

RDM: KOBE HERNANDEZ-FOSTER –7. Kobe was maybe slightly less important than usual. 1 shot on target, 1 chance created, and good on 1 of 4 crosses. Overall passing was meh at 77.1% accuracy on 35 tries. He won 3 of 4 duels and made 1 interception.

LW: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – 8. Is Dawson the left-footed Jonny Dean? Very possibly. He of course got the assist on the first goal but apart from was a major threat. 1 shot on target, another blocked, 2 chances created, 1 of 4 in crosses. He made 10 of 11 passes as well. 3 of 7 in duels and he also provided a clearance and a block. His 78 minutes are good for a Special Mention.

CAM: ENZO MARTINEZ – 7.5. Enzo picked up a late yellow card, for a clear foul and not for arguing. He connected on 21 of 26 passes and had 1 shot on goal and 1 blocked, generating 1 scoring chance. He was in an impressive 13 duels, winning 7, and made 3 tackles, 1 clearance, 1 block and 1 interception.

RW: DEREK DODSON – 7. Necessity moved Derek up to right wing. He was OK, but nowhere near as useful as Dawson. Just 69.2% of his 26 passes connected and he was 1 for 5 in crosses (2 were corners). He did create a scoring chance and had 1 shot off target. He won 7 of 12 duels and made 1 tackle.

FWD: STEFANO PINHO – 9. Whatever else you do, scoring 2 goals is pretty much a lock for Man of the Match. Stefano had 2 other shots, off target but just barely. He was also good on 15 of 18 passes. Get this: He was in twenty duels, winning 9. He also made 4 tackles. False 9 and pure striker all in one game. Nice.

SUB: PROSPER KASIM – 7. Flipping the script a bit, Prosper came on at half-time for Ramiz. He completed 16 of 18 passes and had 2 shots off target and a third blocked. A fairly quiet half all told.

SUB: PRESTON TABORT ETAKA – 8. Replacing AJ in a really attacking switch, the gamble paid off with the assist on the third goal. He also had a shot on goal. He won 5 of 10 duels as well. Nice work.

SUB: MIGUEL PEREZ – 7. 13 official minutes, coming on for Kobe in a more or less like-for-like move. Good on 7 of 10 passes and 1 shot off frame. He won 2 of 3 duels and made 1 interception. Not bad at all.

SUB: TYLER PASHER – 8. He’s back with a vengeance. A straight swap for Dawson, Tyler played 12 official minutes, 20 actual. He got a goal and an assist in that time, had one other shot on target and was perfect in 6 passes. He didn’t connect on his one corner, but who cares. Another Special Mention.

HC: TOMMY SOEHN – 8. Injury issues forced Tommy to get creative with his lineup. He went back to the 4-2-3-1 and mixed it up from there. In-game problems demanded more adjustments. It all worked out pretty well in the end.