OK, it took us longer than usual to get this out, but the USL didn’t help matters in that until yesterday the match page was missing all stats prior to the 15th minute. It’s a bit hard to rank players on things you can’t confirm they did. Especially given how active the team was in that first sixth of the game. They did fix it and so here we go.
GK: MATT VAN OEKEL – 7. Matt made 3 saves in the game and so allowed just one open-play goal. He can’t really be blamed for not stopping the PK of course. His passing was typically low accuracy at 78.9% on 38 tries.
LB: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – 6. Clearly Dawson’s injury was short-term as he went the full 90 in St. Pete. He had a pretty good game, recording 2 tackles and 4 clearances and winning 5 of 11 duels. Also 1 shot off target and 1 unsuccessful cross sent in. But then he got completely bodied by Pacifique Niyongabire for the late tying goal.
CB: RAMIZ HAMOUDA – 7. A fairly uneventful game. 1 tackle, 3 clearances, 2 of 6 in duels. Solid passing, going 61 for 70. He did perhaps allow Endri Mustali a tad too much space for the late assist though.
CB: PHANUEL KAVITA – 7. Phanny told me he thought he was good for 90 minutes but Mark Briggs pulled him after 69. The Legion scored right after that, as it happens. Largely avoided by the Rowdies attack—nothing new there—he put up 1 tackle and 3 clearances and won just 1 of 4 duels. Very solid passing: 90.0% completion rate on 55 attempts.
RB: JAKE RUFE – 7. No switching positions this week for Jake; he was right back all game. In attack only 2 unsuccessful crosses, and on defense 6 clearances and 3 dules won out of 5. Avoided almost as much as Phanny. Passing accuracy was poor though: he connected on only 27 of 37 passes. However, he was screwed on the stat sheet by not being awarded the assist on Enzo’s goal.
DM: KOBE HERNANDEZ-FOSTER – 8. Kobe was all over the field. In defense he racked up 1 tackle and 4 blocks as well as winning 4 of 8 duels. In attack he had 1 shot on target and 4 blocked, sent in one unsuccessful cross and created 1 scoring chance. He was good on 64 of 72 passes. A big outing.
LW: DANNY TREJO – 9. That was only Danny’s second goal of the season. Somehow it feels like it should be way more than that. He would have had a brace if not for unbelievable goalkeeping by Nicolas Campisi. He finished with 4 shots all on target and also created another scoring chance. Rested after 89 minutes, if that can be called a rest. Second straight Man of the Match honors.
LM: ENZO MARTINEZ – 7. OK – Enzo did not commit a penalty foul. If this league had VAR it would have called a free kick as it was definitely outside the 18. He made up for it with the first Legion goal though. 2 other shots were both off target.
RM: TYLER PASHER – 7. Tyler seems to be enjoying playing the inside mid position. Amazingly, he attempted no shots in the game but was constantly dangerous. He created the chance for Enzo’s goal and 1 more besides. This team is far better with him on the field.
LW: SEBASTIAN TREGARTHEN – 7. In 69 minutes Seba was not overly impactful but did find targets on 2 of 3 crossing attempts (1 was a corner). Credited with a scoring chance as well. Overall passing was weak, connecting on just 9 of 18 tries.
FWD: RONALDO DAMUS – 7.5. Not sure if Ronaldo was mad at being taken off after 69 minutes or frustrated that he had not been able get on the scoreboard. Either way, it showed emotional commitment. 5 shots in all, 1 on target, 2 off target and 2 blocked. You can’t ask for much more effort from your striker.
SUB: TIAGO SUAREZ – 7. Tiago replaced Phanny again but in a straight swap this time. He was challenged even less than Phanny: 1 tackle, 1 clearance, 1 duel won and 9 of 10 in passing.
SUB: PRESTON TABORT ETAKA – 7.5. It took Preston all of 7 minutes after coming on for Ronaldo to get the go-ahead assist. He also had 1 shot blocked, which he matched by blocking one himself and logged an interception. Spoiled it a little by mouthing off right at the end of the game and seeing a yellow.
SUB: SAM MCILLHATTON – 6. Last of the trio that entered the game in the 69th minute, Sam was not very effective. He lost alal 4 if his duels and was 7 for 8 in passing. That’s it.
SUB: ROMAN TORRES – 7. Roman replaced Tyler after 79 minutes, about when he came on last week. Good on all 3 passes, he made 1 tackle and won 2 of 4 duels.
SUB: STEPHEN TURNBULL – N/A. It was good to see Stephen back on the field at last, but he had little to do in short time. 1 unsuccessful cross and 1 duel lost.
HEAD COACH: MARK BRIGGS – 7. Not the result he wanted, of course, but Mark had every reason to be pleased, mostly. The team were unquestionably more energized than we are used to seeing and at least some of that has to be his influence. However, the defensive performance will likely not be to his liking.
