Sounders/Fire (5/2) player ratings

[scott47a]

I thought the Sounders, as a group, played really well to earn the tie.

Here are my ratings:

Jaqua: 7 - Jaqua as a right midfielder? Sigi knows!

Montero: 2 - Not only did he get a silly card, but he didn't do anything of value before he left, either. Very disappointing.

Zakuani: 5 - Average score for an average night. A couple decent chances created, but not much to speak of

Ljungberg: 7.5 - Was all over the place, creating chances and helping on defense.

Evans: 7 - Good game. He really shows his worth when we need more defensive help. Does the guy play out wide at all, though?

Alonso: 6 - Rough night by his high standards. Was caught watching Blanco on the Pappa goal.

Sturgis: 6 - Why did he back off Blanco so much? Probably because Blanco has tricks to really burn him. Other than that, decent game.

Hurtado: 7 - Solid game in the middle again.

Marshall: 8 - Man of the match. Won everything at the back and scored a goal.

Riley: 6 - Solid if not exciting

Keller: 6 - Streak was amazing while it lasted and goal wasn't really his fault.

LeToux: 7 - Seba runs like no one else. I don't know where he gets the energy. Earned the corner that led to the goal.

King -- Not enough time for a grade.

[soundersFCfan]

First half:

Keller - 7
Defense - 5
This may be harsh but, everyone else - 2 (what the heck was going on with Evans and Zakuani in the first half? Zakuani was way overcommitted and was out of position on defense about 80% of the time and going forward Evans was way too much in the center = no width).

Second half:

Keller - 7
Marshall - 7
Hurtado - 6
Riley - 5
Sturgis - 5
Alonso - 6
Ljundberg - 6
Montero - 0
Jacqua - 4
LeToux - 6
King - too little time
Evans - 5

[Sounders78]

Montero: 2 - Not only did he get a silly card, but he didn't do anything of value before he left, either. Very disappointing.

Ljungberg: 7.5 - Was all over the place, creating chances and helping on defense.



The two Freds have not been able to connect at all. On several occasions they tried to predict what the other will do and we immediately lost possession.

It looks like Seba was able to convince Sigi that he should be a forward, not a midfielder. I'm looking forward to seeing him as one of our strikers against LA.

[scott47a]

I thought the Sounders, as a group, played really well to earn the tie.

Here are my ratings:

Jaqua: 7 - Jaqua as a right midfielder? Sigi knows!

Montero: 2 - Not only did he get a silly card, but he didn't do anything of value before he left, either. Very disappointing.

Zakuani: 5 - Average score for an average night. A couple decent chances created, but not much to speak of

Ljungberg: 7.5 - Was all over the place, creating chances and helping on defense.

Evans: 7 - Good game. He really shows his worth when we need more defensive help. Does the guy play out wide at all, though?

Alonso: 6 - Rough night by his high standards. Was caught watching Blanco on the Pappa goal.

Sturgis: 6 - Why did he back off Blanco so much? Probably because Blanco has tricks to really burn him. Other than that, decent game.

Hurtado: 7 - Solid game in the middle again.

Marshall: 8 - Man of the match. Won everything at the back and scored a goal.

Riley: 6 - Solid if not exciting

Keller: 6 - Streak was amazing while it lasted and goal wasn't really his fault.

LeToux: 7 - Seba runs like no one else. I don't know where he gets the energy. Earned the corner that led to the goal.

King -- Not enough time for a grade.

On second thought I might drop Jaqua down to a 6. He didn't win a lot in the air this game, which is his true value. It was great he filled in defensively as a right midfielder though.

[Sounder95]

My Take

Keller 7- A few nice saves to keep us in the game.
Hurtado 6- Nothing outstanding but still very solid.
Marshall 8- Great D and a goal.
Riley 6- This was not his greatest game but he still held his own.
Sturgis 5- Not a good game.
Ljundberg 7- Very Solid.
Evans 7- He was everywhere!
Alonso 3- worst game yet, bad passes, poor positioning and gave up a goal.
Jacqua 4- He loses the ball way to much and slows down the attack. Midfield?
Montero 0- Finally a very good excuse to put him on the bench.
LeToux 7- Ran hard! He was a thorn in Chicago’s side.
King 0- Not enough time.

I think we should feel lucky to get out of there with a draw.

[scott47a]

Ratings from Prost Amerika. This week written by Dave Clark, editor of Sounder at Heart.

http://www.prostamerika.com/soundersfc/chicago-v-sounders-player-ratings/

[WestSeattle]

Jaqua: 6 - Not much to judge on really, seemed out of the play frequently, and while I didn't notice any major mistakes; there wasn't a lot to impress with either.

Montero: 0 - Squanders opportunities when he had wide open space, dithered with the ball, always out of synch with his midfield, and drew an embarassing and flagrant red card. The team actually got better when he left, which means he really should get a negative number.

Zakuani: 4 - Huff, puff, puff, huff, huff, puff, puff. Zak: get fit, you're not in Akron anymore.

Ljungberg: 8 - Kept the team together with a lot of clever play, and a real gem to watch.

Evans: 5 - One really nice play, and one really bad mistake is what I remember.

Alonso: 4 - Got taken to school by superior talent. I love Alonso, he's really the "star" of the team in many ways, but in this one he was often tricked, or rushed into bad decisions.

Sturgis: 3 - Dreadful player. We have to do better than this to compete later in the season.

Hurtado: 6 - Let's face it the back 4 were made fools of for most of the game.

Marshall: 6 - Probably the weakest game he's had for us, despite the nifty goal. Okay, he scored, make it a 7, but really his yellow was early and stupid; and he too seemed unable to solve McBride, Pappa or Blanco.

Riley: 3 - A disaster in this one. Looked like a kid out there. I think Riley and Sturgis are cause for major concern.

Keller: 8 - Some really nice play, and his prayers to the post are apparently working. :)

LeToux: 7 - Impressive energy, but a really bad pass to Ljunberg that should have been a goal. It was right there and he flubbed it.