New York City FC player ratings are determined by Hudson River Blue readers — here are your NYCFC player ratings from New York City’s frustrating loss to Charlotte FC on Saturday, May 6.
Starting XI
Santi Rodríguez – 5.9
While the goal from the spot was enough to level the score at the time, it wasn’t enough to secure a point, or earn Santi a high HRB rating this week. The fans wanted more, and I think that’s fair enough. Fotmob handed down a 7.4.
Andres Jasson (off 46′) – 3.0
This is a tough one for Andres, who was given the opportunity to step up for his side and make an impact from the first minute, rather than in the 81st as has been the pattern this season. But it wasn’t to be for the young homegrown, who was pulled at half-time. Hopefully, he can put this one behind him and come back stronger. Fotmob gave him a 6.0.
Gabriel Pereira – 6.9
GP was a clear standout again on Saturday, which is becoming a theme as we move through this season. His cooly-taken goal marked his third of the campaign, and makes for his sixth goal involvement through 10 appearances. If he keeps that up over a 34-game season he could be well on his way to becoming a breakout star. Fotmob presented GP with an impressive 7.9.
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Richy Ledzema – 4.7
This is a really harsh rating, as I thought the young American had a really solid game other than his unfortunate own goal — he even bagged an assist for Pereira with a well-weighted through-ball. But when you tuck home the match-winner in your own net, I suppose you will feel the fan’s frustration. Fotmob gave Richy a 6.8, which feels more fair to me.
Keaton Parks – 5.0
It was a tough day for Keaton, who just couldn’t influence the game. Despite his quality, I’m beginning to become aware of how often I’ve typed that exact sentence this year. Fotmob handed Keaton an only slightly more generous 5.7.
Alfredo Morales – 4.2
With James Sands dropping into the back line, the defensive role in the midfield fell to Alfredo Morales, who hasn’t seen nearly as many minutes this season as he has in prior years. Perhaps some of that bit of rust showed on Saturday, as FotMob gave Alfredo a 5.5.
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James Sands – 5.3
As head coach Nick Cushing said when we brought him back to NYCFC, Sands is in the squad to play in the midfield. Yes, he can play center back, and was asked to do that on Saturday. But it’s hard to hang this one on Jimmy, who was deputized to stand in for a Maxime Chanot who rode the bench for his role in the Talles Magno bird-flipping incident last week. A strange situation across the board. It’ll be good to see Sands back in the midfield next week. Fotmob gave him a 6.0.
Thiago Martins – 4.7
Maybe Thiago Martins missed his Luxembourgish counterpart in the back, as this was very unlike most other performances we’ve seen from the DP this season. The cross for the first goal ran right across his path to an unmarked Enzo Copetti, who made the Brazilian pay for the amount of space he was afforded. Hopefully, Thiago Martins is back to his best next week for the Hudson River Derby. Fotmob was similarly disappointed, handing out a lowly 5.7.
Tayvon Gray (off 16′) – 3.4
Lol, this is heartless from y’all. Tayvon played just 16 minutes before coming off with injury and HRB readers have absolutely buried the homegrown who had only just returned to the Starting XI. Fotmob gave Gray a 6.2
Braian Cufré (off 77′) – 4.8
The Argentinian has yet to receive any favorable ratings from HRB readers this season, which I partially understand for his lack of statement impact, but also find a bit puzzling for his lack of serious error as well. I suppose he didn’t do himself any favors in losing a footrace to McKinze Gaines for Charlotte’s first goal. FotMob presented Braian with a much higher 7.3.
Luis Barraza – 5.0
Any time a keeper sees the ball hit the back of his net three times, you can go ahead and assume their FotMob rating will take a hefty hit. I guess you can say the same for HRB readers, who handed our No 1 an unimpressed 5.0, even lower than FotMob’s 6.3. I’m not sure there was much Barraza could’ve done about any of those strikes, but that’s the nature of the position.
Substitutes
Mitja Ilenič (on 16′) – 5.6
While it wasn’t quite another start for the young Slovenian, it might as well have been given the number of minutes he logged following Tayvon’s early exit due to injury. Hopefully, he gets some rest in these next few days as we have 2 more matches this week, and Tayvon’s availability is questionable. Fotmob gave Mitja a 6.4.
Talles Magno (on 46′) – 4.5
It was a weird day for Talles Magno, who came on at halftime seemingly as a result of the Chanot incident last week. He failed to make a tangible impact in the 45 minutes he did see. Fotmob assessed the Brazilian with a 5.9.
Kevin O’Toole (on 77′) – 4.5
No love for my man Kevin here, whose beautifully whipped-in ball to Ledezma in the 76th minute could have easily resulted in an assist for him – and the ultimate make-up goal for Richy – if not for a great save from Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. That’s how it goes sometimes. Fotmob handed Kevin a 6.1.
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Player of the Match
Gabriel Pereira
The race for POTM this week wasn’t even close: The quality and composure and of Gabi’s goal earned the winger when more than 75% of your vote. This is Pereira’s third POTM so far this year, which is good enough for the best on the squad.
Head Coach
Nick Cushing – 3.0
This is an interesting one to me, as the Starting XI he rolled out tonight was seemly a direct result of the aforementioned clash between Chanot and Talles Magno. Sitting both offenders left NYCFC with a tangibly weaker squad.
This is where I disagree with the low rating handed out by HRB readers here. Sure, the lineup probably hurt us on the night, but this was a long-term play from Cushing. Team culture always has to come first in my opinion, and if the coach feels that culture has been threatened or damaged in any way, he has to act accordingly — even if it comes at the expense of a result this week.
Chris Penso (referee) – 5.2
Originally slated to be the Fourth Official, Chris Penso was a last-minute substitute for the role of the main referee. Honestly, a 5.2 is pretty high as far as refereeing ratings go, so we’ll take that. He awarded NYCFC with a penalty that was about as stonewall as they come, and ran the rest of the game well.
Tyler Terens and Devon Kerr (Apple TV announcers) – 4.2
The same broadcast team as last week scored much lower after this game. The post-game Instant Reaction from our colleague Oliver Strand on the vocal habits of Terens might explain why.
I will defend the low rating for Cufre. He does really stupid fouls, in really stupid areas. He’s not alone in that as Alfredo Morales’ entire time with us seems characterized by constant bad fouls in bad areas, with some amazing games sprinkled in. But I worry about Cufre being a starter and adopting the same pattern. When he did his foul that set up their free kick that gave them that own goal, my wife was treated to a rant on how you never let a team on the ropes (and I would argue we had wrestled the momentum away at that point) an easy chance at a goal with a free set piece. Then they scored and I walked out of the room and screamed into a pillow. There’s no point to it. They are not in a dangerous position and you are not out of position. It’s the little mental mistakes that so often make the difference in a game.
sorta agreed. Braian’s working late is high, but not the efficiency. hard on some useless balls, eff’in up the critical ones. thing is that. his effort seems still disconnected, not contributing. in comparison to the right flank—Illenic to Gabi, Ledezma to Gabi, or triangular with all three. partial blame to Magno, tho, here. lotta inefficiency is retrospectively concluded by Magno’s hopeless touch in the end on the right flank. sure Cufre’s crossing’s on point at times, but the current NYCFC is missing the target striker. hence inefficient, contrast to FotMob numbers that is just based on the numbers
^rate not late