Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades
Orlando City picked up another point after a bizarre draw against the New England Revolution on Sunday. Kaká opened the scoring from the spot but then it was all Revs as they thoroughly dominated the rest of the first half. The final half hour saw substitutions and a change of formation which drastically improved the Lions play (funny how that works). The match seemed destined for a 1–1 draw but 2 goals in stoppage time and incompetent refereeing turned a deserved draw into a, well, deserved draw.
G Joe Bendik- Bendik was credited with four saves. Once again, there wasn’t much he could do about either goal. Teal Bunbury turned one into the net from close range and Lee Nguyen slotted home the equalizer from the spot. Grade- 6
RB Kevin Alston- Orlando City missed the attacking ability of Rafael Ramos, but overall Alston played well on his starting debut with the Lions. Alston was in charge of keeping an eye on dangerous left back Chris Tierney, which severely limited his ability in the offensive third. Grade- 6
CB Tommy Redding- Redding was attempting to mark Bunbury on the Revs opening goal but got outmuscled, or perhaps, even pushed in the back. Either way, Redding needs to be better physically on crosses and corner kicks. Grade- 5.5
CB Seb Hines- Hines was Orlando City’s best defender on the day. He was calm, collected, and good in the air. I would like to see Hines take charge and mark the opponents best aerial threat, as that’s clearly not Redding’s forte. Grade- 6
LB Brek Shea- Shea managed to get in the way of his own defenders and looked hesitant to make a tackle, which is somewhat understandable given the current state of MLS officiating. Overall, it was an underwhelming performance. Grade- 5.5
CDM Antonio Nocerino- Nocerino was dreadful again in the first half. He looks fat, slow and color blind as he turned the ball over regularly. However, much like the rest of the Lions, his play improved in the second half. A long range effort just over the bar might be the highlight of the season for the Italian. Grade- 5
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CDM Darwin Ceren- Ceren takes home the CST Man of the Match after a brilliant box-to-box display by the Salvadorian captain. His energetic play was desperately calling out for an athletic partner in midfield. Normally Ceren’s play suffers when Cristian Higuita is out of the lineup, so it was good to see him step up when the Lions needed him most. Grade- 8
RM Adrian Winter- Winter played 61, mostly anonymous, minutes. Orlando City was extremely poor in the first half and Winter was along for the ride. While we love Winter’s energy, tenacity and grit, we still don’t see him as a preferred starter in a full strength lineup. Grade- 5.5
CAM Kaká- Kaká opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 2nd minute of the match. Unfortunately, we had to wait until the 61st minute before the Captain started taking control of the match. The Lions really took over in the 2nd half once Kaká was moved to the left flank. New England gave him far too much room to operate as he continually menaced London Woodbury. Grade- 7.5
LM Carlos Rivas- It was an up and down performance for Rivas. At times he reminds you of Cyle Larin and can look lazy, then the ball gets near him and he springs to life. His positioning high up the field negated any offensive presence on the right wing for the Revs, a wise tactical decision from Adrian Heath. Several times Rivas could have sprung himself on goal with a nifty first touch, only to be fouled by the Revs. One day we are going to see an attacking-mid line of Rivas, Kaká and Molino. I can’t wait for that day. Grade- 5.5
S Julio Baptista- It took 14 seconds for Baptista to make an impact. The Beast barreled his way through the Revs defense after a long ball by Brek Shea and won Orlando City a penalty. That was about all the Brazilian offered outside of having a proper striker on the field, and like Nocerino, it looks like he has a ways to go with his fitness. Grade- 6
Substitutions
Cyle Larin- Larin entered in the 61st minute and immediately became a problem for the Revs. His ability to get open in the box makes him special, however, we saw the clumsy Larin over the final half hour as he struggled to get his touch right. Expect Larin to start next match and probably score. Grade- 5.5
Kevin Molino- All of a sudden Molino has two goals for Orlando City this season. One from the penalty spot and one aided by his hand. I don’t think anyone will mind how the ball is going in as it’s great to see Molino make an impact on the score sheet. Like I said earlier with Rivas, once Orlando City gets their attackers on the field at the same time, the Lions will be one of the most dangerous offensive units in MLS. Grade- 7
Servando Carrasco- Poor Serva got called for the ball hitting his shoulder just inside the penalty box. It’s probably one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen a referee make. Carrasco only played a few minutes and I’m not his biggest fan, but I’d prefer him over Nocerino at this point. Grade- N/A
