The 2-point penalty shootout win was less than what was expected from this game and leaves the Legion’s chances of making the knockout rounds slim. To win the group (ignoring the wild card option) the Three Sparks will need 3 more points than San Antonio. That essentially means winning both remaining games (which are both at home and against the 2 teams between the Legion and San Antonio, FC Tulsa and Corpus Christi FC) and hoping San Antonio drops at least 3 points. They play Tulsa away and Chattanooga at home. A loss to Tulsa represents the best chance of that happening, but it’s not the only possibility of course.
For 10 minutes everything looked like it would work out and then the equalizer came and a very necessary point was dropped. Not the greatest performance, but here are the various grades:
GK: TREVOR MCMULLEN – B
Trevor got just his second start for the Legion and for 63 minutes was completely untested. He then stopped two shots on target before mishandling the ball and allowing Greyson Mercer to score. Would Jassem have handled the ball better? Who knows. He stopped Josh Ramos’ penalty though to salvage a point. 55% accuracy on 20 passes was pretty poor.
LB: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – B-
Defensively, Dawson was pretty solid. 2 tackles, 3 clearances and 4 of 6 duels won. In attack, not so much. 1 scoring chance created, 2 crosses, 1 good, 1 bad. No shots at all, and the 63.2% ccuracy rate on 38 passes was well under par. He did convert his PK at least.
CB: KEEGAN HUGHES- C-
Not a game Keegan is going to want to remember. Although his defensive stats look OK (3 tackles, 4 clearances and 1 block), he lost 8 of 14 duels and had horrendous passing, connecting on just 18 of 33. Worse, he let Greyson Mercer loose for the tying goal and his potentially game-winning PK was saved.
CB: PHANUEL KAVITA – B
It’s unclear why Phanny was subbed out after 61 minutes; it was a straight like-for-like swap. Hopefully that does not indicate an injury. Anyway, up to that point he was as usual studiously avoided by the Chattanooga attack, who in fact got their first shot on target barely a minute after he left the game. Just 3 tackles, 2 for 4 in duels and a solid 85.2% completion rate on 27 passes.
RB: AMIR DALEY – B-
Amir played just the first half, again replaced in the same position. Pretty decent for 45 minutes: 1 tackle, 4 of 5 duels won and he connected on 18 of 24 passing attempts.
LDM: KADEEM COLE – B
This was Kadeem’s 3rd start of the season, but his first full 90 since the Hartford game back in early March. It’s tough to say which of the two pivots played the defensive role; neither Kadeem nor Seth got into the final third much. 2 tackles and 3 clearances went with winning 8 of 11 duels, not bad at all. Not attacking contributions at all, but 81% accuracy on 42 Pases is good.
RDM: SETH ANTWI – B-
Seth’s 2 chance creations suggest he was the advanced pivot, but only 1 of his crosses found a target. 2 tackles, 1 clearance and 1 interception are comparable to Kadeem, as is his 82.7% connection rate on 52 passes. However, he lost 8 of 14 duels and got a very silly yellow card late in the game.
LAM: GEVORK DIARBIAN – B-
Gevork was pulled right as regular time expired. That’s about the same as the San Antonio game, which suggests Jay doesn’t have too much confidence in his PK shooting. In attack, 2 crosses, 1 successful. Defensively, 1 tackle and he split 14 duels down the middle. A surprisingly low 16 passes, of which 12 were good.
CAM: TYLER PASHER – B-
A week off didn’t do much to get Tyler any success. Only 2 shots, both of which were blocked. He blocked 2 himself though. He created 3 scoring chances, all of which went wanting. His average position was well back of where he normally hangs out. Subbed out after 79 minutes.
RAM: PETER-LEE VASSELL – B
Peter-Lee was subbed out along with Phanny, but had put up relatively good numbers. 3 shots, 1 on target, 1 off and 1 blocked, although only the block was from inside the 18. Passing was really bad, though: only 10 of 20 attempts connected, and one of those was a short corner. 2 tackles, 1 block and 1 interception; 4 of 8 in duels.
FWD: RONALDO DAMUS – B
Ronaldo managed just 1 shot in 80 minutes, which was off target. He did get the assist on the goal, though, a cheeky backheel through traffic. He lost 7 of 10 duels and only made 7 passes, completing 5 of them. The lack of service gets is indicative of the major problem currenlty facing the Legion.
SUB: LEO DURU – C
In a full half Leo had just 1 clearance and 1 interception, along with 3 duels, of which he lost 2. No attacking efforts; 25 passing attempts, good just 68% of the time.
SUB: BRYCE WASHINGTON – C
In for Phanny, Bryce was only moderately busy. 4 clearances and just 2 duels, both of which he won. A shockingly low 12 passes (center backs usually get way more than that), finishing just 8.
SUB: SEBASTIAN SAUCEDO – A-
Scoring just 6 minutes after entering the game? Yeah, that’s what you want. Converting a PK? Also good (he missed last time out). A yellow card for arguing? Not so good. Even so, Man of the Match among a lot of poor showings.
SUB: ROMARIO WILLIAMS – C-
Replacing Ronaldo Romario again provided almost nothing. No shots, 3 passes (2 were good) and the same numbers for duels. A late yellow card did not improve matters.
SUB: SERGE NGOMA – B
Last man in and his primary activity was the winning PK. Did what he was inserted for, then,
HC: JAY HEAPS – C
Giving a few players the opportunity to start is good, but this was really a must-win situation. Would Sebastian Tregarthen and Sam McIllhatton have provided more punch? Probably. But the overarching problem of breaking down defenses remains unsolved.
