Rank and File: Union vs. New York Red Bulls
As best I can tell, we got the most responses in Rank and File history this week. So congratulations to all of you for that.
Rank and File: Union vs. New York Red Bulls
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
As best I can tell, we got the most responses in Rank and File history this week. So congratulations to all of you for that. You all had a lot to say, too, so let's get right to your player ratings for Saturday's game.
Goalkeeper
Faryd Mondragón: 7.65
- "Mondragón was energetic, commanding ... and very, very lucky. He was caught completely flat-footed on the Agudelo shot which hit the post and was out of position on the shot which hit the crossbar." (Fake Peter Nowak)
Defenders
Danny Califf: 6.84
- "Another fine performance, always popping up to block shots. Did get caught wrong side of Agudelo though." Mark Nakahara)
Jordan Harvey: 7.10
- "Handled Dane Richards and still got up the flank into attack." (George Hasenecz)
Carlos Valdés: 7.55
- "Califf and Valdés deserve a large amount of credit for the shutout. Valdés in particular was almost always in the right place at the right time." (Osager)
Sheanon Williams: 7.15
- "Love his throw-ins, but at times his best defense is his ability to get forward. He got schooled a couple of times. Seemed more controlled, not ending up in the middle of the field." (Nick Youngstein)
Midfielders
Brian Carroll: 3.36
- "Those were seven really good minutes, I guess. Hopefully the hamstring isn't too bad." (Nick Youngstein)
Keon Daniel: 6.70
- "Kyle Nakazawa had better get comfortable on the bench, Daniel is here to stay." (Jared R.)
- "Best find this offseason. Played both wide and centrally and was absolutely a difference-maker." (Nick Youngstein)
Justin Mapp: 6.30
- "I'm getting a little bit tired of watching Justin Mapp running around in little semicircles trying to keep the ball on his left foot. Call me old-fashioned if you must; I believe a professional footballer should be able to play the ball with either foot." (Osager)
Stefani Miglioranzi: 4.37
- "Miglioranzi was awful, even by his standards. I stopped counting after his fifth turnover - in the first half. He adds nothing to the team and I wouldn't start him were it not for the compromising photos he took of me and that police horse."
Amobi Okugo: 6.90
- "Okugo was the man of the match for me. He and a healthy Carroll would make a fine defensive midfield pairing if Nowak is inclined to continue this style. Migs has to be a player off the bench in the future." (Gavin)
Roger Torres: 8.55
- "Torres has made me a believer. I haven't been a huge fan, but when he gets in the game he makes an immediate impact. He needs to see more time." (Dave Q.)
- "I can't see Torres playing 90, but for 15 he is electric." (Richard Holland)
Forwards
Sebastien Le Toux: 5.75
- "Sebastien Le Toux is in phenomenal shape, but I'm less interested in watching him run from side to side of the field than I am in watching him occasionally get open and do something when he gets the ball." (Fake Peter Nowak)
Danny Mwanga: 7.35
- "Danny Mwanga I thought made a huge difference off the bench, the squad had very little creativity until he came in. Not sure I believe that he expected that errant pass on the goal, though... His pass to Torres on the goal was very nice, a lot of players would have screwed that up." (Josh Wheeling)
- "He looks comfortable on the ball, and his size makes him a danger for opposing defenses. It'd be nice if Nowak could find him some more minutes." (Isaac B.)
Carlos Ruiz: 5.74
- "Fishy had an okay game. I still don't think he's ready to be this team's best scorer, but he's a presense. If his feel for the game and scoring knack return to him, this Union team will be a lot better, and they already are the conference leaders." (Nick Youngstein)
- "Ruiz didn't impress me (again). He needs to be stronger on the ball and not wait for it to be set up on a silver platter everytime." (Dave Q.)
Inanimate Objects
The crossbar of the goal in front of the River End: 7.00
- "JT, you forgot to list the 2 most important contributors - I give the right post an eight, but the crossbar only a seven cause that save was kind of soft." (Osager)
The right post of the goal in front of The River End: 8.50
- "I'd have to give the goal post a nine." (Richard Holland)
@Osager - Perfect assessment of Justin Mapp. It's actually impressive how little he contacts the ball with his right foot. Also, great call on giving credit where credit was due, and that was to the woodwork. I completely missed out on praising the posts for their performance.— nyoungstein- I really liked that Nowak started Ruiz, and then subbed him for Mwanga in the 2nd half. Danny ran rampant through the tired NY players.— Briancd
- Here's some thoughts from the friendly, local, soccer neophyte...
Keon Daniel was fun to watch. He has a lot of creativity with the ball, and I loved his work ethic on the field.
I'm always amazed at exactly what Justin Mapp can accomplish with, essentially, one foot.
As I said before in the Take Two post, I thought Le Toux had his best game of the season. He seemed more energetic and played a strong game. I don't know if that's because he was back at forward instead of midfield, or because he switched back to his pink shoes (something my daughter noticed), or just a matter of his sprained ankle finally feeling better. Whatever it was, he seemed more like the Le Toux from last year.
I don't notice Carlos Valdes, which I think is a real good sign. I don't have enough "soccer smarts" yet to pick up little things defenders do that make a big difference. What I can see, though, is when a defender gets burned. The fact that I don't seem to ever take notice of Valdes tells me he's doing well.
Thanks to everybody who shared comments, and thanks to JT for putting this together every week. I'm having a good time learning more and more every week as I watch my FIRST PLACE Union.— Zherog - I'm sick of people talking about Mwanga as a "supersub". He's only super because he's BETTER THAN RUIZ. He's big, he's strong, he's fit, HE SHOULD START. No exceptions.
I had a commitment and regrettably couldn't make it to PPL. It was actually fairly enlightening to watch the match alone seated on my couch. Carlos Ruiz BARELY MOVED. Two long range cracks at goal do not make a good performance and his work rate was shameful.
Mwanga starts. He has to.— COYS
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
