New York City vs Cincinnati player ratings

It wasn't their best performance, but New York City FC did enough to get past FC Cincinnati and advance in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

It's hard to miss the similarities between Game 3 and Game 1 of this series, both scoreless NYCFC performances at TQL Stadium, though this set of player ratings is much more positive than those that followed the Game 1 loss.

That's likely down to the rare shutout by the New York City defense, and the positive result of that topsy-turvy penalty kick shootout, which NYCFC won in the ninth round of kicks.

New York City defy odds, advance to Eastern Conference Semi

NYCFC did just enough to hold Cincinnati scoreless at TQL Stadium, then prevailed in a nutty 18-attempt penalty shootout to win the best-of-three playoff series.

Hudson River BlueOliver Strand

You rewarded winning penalty kicker Mitja Ilenič and the rest of the New York City defensive line for keeping a first clean sheet since late July, as the average rating for the team's four defensive starters was a sparkling 7.9.

There were some wide disparities between your ratings and what these players earned from FotMob's system, with the Hudson River Blue rating far higher in a few cases – which is likely again down to that penalty kick shootout, as in, FotMob didn't account for it but you did.

One player without much of a ratings divergence: Matt Freese. The goalkeeper rated 9.1 at FotMob and a stunning 9.7 here in these ratings, the highest score given to a New York City FC player in the history of these reader-generated player ratings.

Read on for more on Freese's latest masterpiece, plus a spotlight on the team's rock at the base of midfield, James Sands, who did a lot of lesser-heralded work in the middle that helped keep Cincy scoreless before again showing off his confidence and calm while on penalty kick duty.

Note: FotMob ratings are in parentheses.