Player Ratings: Birmingham Legion 1-3 Loudoun United
This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, an ideal performance by the team. If anything, it seemed to highlight some ongoing problems rolling over from last season. There were a few bright spots, but overall Saturday was not a great start.
GK: MATT VAN OEKEL – 6. MVO had little chance on the second goal after making an excellent stop on the original attempt but could have been more reactive on the first goal and let the third one slip underneath him. Still, he made 5 saves in the game. Matt was also given the captain’s armband for this one which raises the question of how much longer he is going to put the gloves on.
LB: MOSES MENSAH – 6.5. The Legion attack was heavily concentrated on the left side, so it’s not surprising Moses was relatively active in that phase of the game. He pumped in 2 crosses, 1 successfully, had 1 shot off target and created 1 scoring chance. Defensively he had 1 tackle and a whopping 7 clearances. He won just 3 of 11 duels though. He gets dinged for a yellow card.
CB: RAMIZ HAMOUDA – 6.5. Putting a 16-year-old in at centerback was a gutsy call but Ramiz was definitely up to the task. He made 2 tackles and matched Moses with 7 clearances and won 5 of his 10 duels. He was also accurate on 82.4% of his 51 passes but marred the overall performance with a yellow card.
CB: PHANUEL KAVITA – 6.5. 4 tackles and 4 clearances, 5 of 6 duels won. Playing alongside a youngster it’s no shock that Phanny was largely avoided by Loudoun. He connected on 32 of just 38 passes. Also hit with a yellow card although it may have been a tad harsh.
RB: JAKE RUFE – 7.5. Jake scored just his second professional goal and like the first one it was very soon after coming on; the first was back in 2021 against the Indy Eleven when he scored just a minute after being subbed in. He also sent in an unsuccessful cross. Defensively, he recorded just 1 clearance and won 2 of 7 duels. Passing was low: a weakish 73.7% accuracy rate on 38 attempts. He completed the back line’s set of yellow cards as well.
LM: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – 7. Dawson’s numbers may not look all that impressive but overall he was the Forge’s Man of the Match. He got in 2 shots, 1 on target (counting as a scoring chance) and the other not too far off. 2 crosses lobbed in, both unsuccessfully. However, his work rate was easily as good as any other player on the team.
CM: ROMAN TORRES – 7. Roman was subbed out after 61 minutes as a result of a knock that may need medical attention. His free kick was the assist on Jake’s goal and he created 2 scoring chances overall. He sent in 3 crosses including the free kick but the other two did not find a target. He also had 1 shot off target. He found his man on 23 of his 37 passes; a center mid needs to be better than that.
RM: KOBE HERNANDEZ-FOSTER – 6. Kobe was playing somewhat out of position, being more suited to a defensive pivot role. He did make 2 clearances and 1 block but won only 1 of 6 duels. In attack he attempted 3 shots, 2 off frame and 1 blocked. He delivered a hefty 5 crosses, all without connecting.
LW: DANNY TREJO – 6. Danny’s evening was cut short at half time due to a possible concussion, so he didn’t contribute too much. Just 5 passes, 4 short and 1 long and connecting only on the short ones. 1 shot off target.
RW: PRESTON TABORT ETAKA – 5. Preston’s only attacking contribution (statistically at least) was an unsuccessful cross. He made just 18 passes for a paltry 61.1% completion rate and also lost 9 of 14 duels. Not a good outing.
FWD: RONALDO DAMUS – 5. Ronaldo stormed off the field at the end of the game and was clearly very unhappy. He ended the game with no shots at all and just 9 passes, finishing just 6 of them. He also lost 12 of 14 duels. He needs to step it up big time.
SUB: LUCCA DOURADO – 6. Lucca came on for Danny at half time and barely did much more than Ronaldo. 1 blocked shot and 3 short passes (all good) was his entire involvement in the game.
SUB: TEMI EREKU – 7. When Temi came into the game for Roman, it was more or less already out of reach and he was not called on to do a great deal. 1 clearance, 2 duels (winning one). Good on 5 of 7 passes.
HC: TOMMY SOEHN – 5. Granted, Tommy did not have a lot of options given the unavailability of several players but the decision-making was poor and unclear. The initial formation was a hybrid 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 that morphed into a 4-4-2 late in the first half. None of it worked at all. His decision to leave Stephen Turnbull out of the lineup was odd and he did not elaborate on why that was done. A lot of work to be done this week.
