Player Ratings: United Suffocated by Press in Kansas City

Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Positives

There were slim to none. Tyrone Mears’ strike was stunning and will go down as one of the goals of the season. Given the four goals allowed, you might expect the defense to be a primary culprit, but I would venture to say that’s not necessarily the case.

The first goal was a turnover — forced by SKC’s press — that was followed by a sublime finish. Then the next two goals followed a similar pattern: Sporting given far too much space on the righthand side of the pitch with Eric Miller and Alexi Gomez offering minimal resistance.

All that is to say, this result doesn’t necessarily say that Minnesota United will be lost without Francisco Calvo, and on a gameday-like Sunday bereft of much, that counts as a mild positive.    

Negatives

Inability to keep possession and muster a well-organized team defensive effort. At its best, United dominate possessions for large spells of games and given the team’s defensive frailty this is a must.

The Loons knew they were up against a supremely talented side and despairingly they couldn’t manage to provide strong bouts of possession to quell SKC’s momentum. The same rings true for Minnesota’s inability to be organized enough to handle simple balls played out wide right.     

Coach rating out of 10

4 — Earning big upsets takes big coaching decisions and unfortunately, from a United perspective, it doesn’t appear head coach Adrian Heath was able to make a decisive tactical move.

The biggest knock against Heath coming out of this game is that he knows exactly how SKC likes to play — an incredibly intense, high press — yet he confoundingly didn’t appear to take any sort of evasive action. Sporting forced numerous turnovers, including one which led directly to the first goal, and never looked back.

Jun 3, 2018; Kansas City, KS, USA; Minnesota United head coach Adrian Heath reacts after the game against Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Bobby Shuttleworth, 5 — Was completely left out to dry on the first two SKC scores. Possibly could have done better with the third goal, though, which would have kept the game within reach.   

Jun 3, 2018; Kansas City, KS, USA; Minnesota United goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth (33) leaps for the ball in the first half against Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

RB Tyrone Mears, 5 — Was the primary culprit in the first goal as his poor pass was intercepted. Mears made up for it, though, with one of the goals of the season with his strike from some 35 yards out.   

CB Michael Boxall, 6 — Provided a stable partnership with Kallman in the center, but the newly anointed captain couldn’t help as his team was undone from the wings.

CB Brent Kallman, 6 — Made numerous clearances throughout the match and did so under the pressure of standing in for Calvo. The spotlight will be on him in his next start, but you can’t heavily fault him for this poor team performance.   

LB Eric Miller, 4 — He and Gomez appeared to be on a desolate island, stranded miles from their teammates and any help defense. Sporting used this to their advantage and iced the game with ease.

CM Ibson, 5 — His abilities are robust but defense is not chief among them. His lack of speed is also apparent in fixtures like this.

Jun 3, 2018; Kansas City, KS, USA; Minnesota United midfielder Ibson (7) dribbles the ball as Sporting Kansas City midfielder Wan Kuzain (75) defends in the second half at Children’s Mercy Park. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

CM Rasmus Schuller, 4 — Wasn’t in the key spots he needed to be deep in his own half to stymie the SKC attack when it was needed most. Also, his lack of dynamism in penetrating passes or dribbling weighs on his team.   

RW Miguel Ibarra, 4 — Actually played a telling role in the opening goal. Miguel’s lack of dribbling ability means he can flourish, but only if his team can retain possession with regularity. This was not the case on Sunday.

LW Alexi Gomez, 3 — His decision making has been suspect from the start and this is only exacerbated against top-level opponents.

CAM Darwin Quintero, 5 — A symbolic moment took place in the first half: Quintero found himself in possession just outside the opponent’s penalty area, the closest seven players to him we were wearing Sporting Kansas City jerseys. Quintero lost possession and looked dejected.   

ST Christian Ramirez, 5  Hit the crossbar early on and was making fantastic runs, often getting behind and causing SKC problems. This waned as Sporting adjusted to his threat and he scuffled a prime chance when Quintero found him over the top and the game was still 1-1. A goal there could have changed the game.

Jun 3, 2018; Kansas City, KS, USA; Minnesota United forward Christian Ramirez (21) talks with Minnesota United midfielder Maximiano (31) in the second half against Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Substitutes

CM Maximiano, 1 — Came on at halftime for Gomez. Managed to get himself two yellow cards, along with the mandatory early shower that comes with, in the span of just about 20 minutes. This comes off the back of a few other performances that have been horrid from the Brazilian.

F Abu Danladi N/A

M Frantz Pangop, N/A


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