Player Ratings: Birmingham Legion 2-2 Hartford Athletic

Well, talk about a blown opportunity. Having been in total control for the first 45 minutes the Legion let this one slip out of their grasp. Such is life.

GK: MATT VAN OEKEL – 7. There wasn’t much MVO could do about either goal, although he did get a hand to Ngalina’s PK. Otherwise he made 2 saves. 61% passing accuracy was low even by his standards.

LB: MOSES MENSAH – 6. Trying to clear a ball directly in front of an opponent’s face is not exactly smart. Particularly inside the 18. Beyond that big mistake, 1 tackle, 1 clearance and 1 interception. 4 of 7 duels won.

CB: A.J. PATERSON – 6.5. AJ got the only card of the entire game, which is very unusual in this league. Not at all bad though: he was in just 1 duel, which he won, and made 1 tackle, 5 clearances and 1 interception. He also got in a shot (from distance in second-half stoppage time; it was blocked) and went 84.7% on 59 passes.

CB: PHANUEL KAVITA – 7. Just 1 defensive action for Phanny – a clearance – but he was in 6 duels, winning only 2. Good on 62 of 67 passes. Basically, Hartford avoided him. Wise move.

RB: DEREK DODSON – 7. A pretty decent performance from Derek: 4 of 5 duels won, 2 clearances and 1 interception. A very solid 93.2% accurate on 44 passes and 1 shot off target. A quiet player but he gets the job done.

LDM: JAKE RUFE – 6. The league website has the formation as a 4-3-3 but from my POV it looked more a 4-2-3-1 with Jake playing a very high attacking pivot, practically a 4-1-4-1. He played just 64 minutes and no attacking actions from that position. He attempted just 31 passes, connecting on 26. Not up to snuff.

CDM: KOBE HERNANDEZ-FOSTER –7. Kobe provided the monstrous assist on Enzo’s goal. He was subbed out in an odd decision after 75 minutes, in which he generated 2 scoring chances, made 1 tackle, 1 clearance and 1 interception and went 3 of 5 in duels.

RDM: ENZO MARTINEZ – 8. When Enzo knows he is clear on goal there is no stopping him. He had 3 other shots, 2 off target and 1 blocked. Just 25 passes for a 64% completion rate and he was in 12 duels, continuing a trend from last week, winning 5 of them. Man of the Match.

LW: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – 7. Dawson’s backheel goal was, as they say, filth. He added another shot off target and one more blocked in 88 minutes. He also created a scoring chance. He made just 18 passes for a creditable 88.9% accuracy rate.

RW: TYLER PASHER – 8. Tyler played just the first 45 minutes, possibly because he is still not 90 minutes fit. The game changed significantly in his absence though. His corner was the assist on Dawson’s goal and he created 3 scoring chances. Different team when he’s on the pitch.

FWD: STEFANO PINHO – 6. Nowhere near as good as last week. Stefano had just 2 shots, both off target, although he did create a scoring chance. 13 passes for 84.6% accuracy (he was perfect in the attacking half though).

SUB: PRESTON TABORT ETAKA – 5. On for Tyler at half-time and Preston was not good. He managed just 7 passes in the entire half, completing just 3 of them. 1 shot off target, 1 blocked. Good on just 1 of 6 crossing attempts. Sub-optimal to say the least.

SUB: MIGUEL PEREZ – 7. Replacing Jake Miggy nearly pulled off the late game-winner only to be denied by a great save from Renan Ribeiro. He had another shot blocked and blocked one himself. He connected on 10 of 12 passes as well. A decent outing.

SUB: RAMIZ HAMOUDA – 7. On for Kobe right after the first Hartford goal in presumably a defensive decision. Ramiz had no defensive actions, however, and won just 1 of 4 duels. On the upside, he created scoring chances.

SUB: PROSPER KASIM – 7. In after 88 minutes, Prosper generated 3 passes, all connecting, and 2 crosses, 1 connecting. NO scoring chances created, but that’s a fair work product for short time.

HC: TOMMY SOEHN – 6. Difficult to rate Tommy on this one. His initial game plan was spot on, but his substitution pattern just did not pan out at all. Admittedly he was limited by injuries and other unavailability (thanks, Alex!). Even so, he should have won this one.