Get on to the Bus

Man, I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to go to the game this weekend, considering how hot and sticky it would be with a 3 year old in tow, but I'm glad I did. Really good night, good result, and consdering how many guys were out due to International Duty, not to mention Dom tearing it up in the USL Final, I was really pleased to see that team chemistry still appears to be in tact, even when going down to that depth. Our performance and playing style didn't seem to change much, and I Was glad to see the guys really attack and never let up while playing at home.

Got some ratings to dish out, but first, a few snapshots to dump.

 

And now, numbers. Only critique is Benny's numbers look low, he's played real well since the All-Star break, but like Roger before him, and to a certain extent, Uri, he does the work that doesn't get much notice in the stat sheet. I'm sure he's okay with that.

 

Columbus Crew	Rating
Matt Lampson	4.2
Chad Marshall	4.2
Danny O'Rourke	4.2
Tyson Wahl	4.2
Chad Barson	4.2
Eric Gehrig	4.6
Bernardo Anor	4.6
Tony Tchani	4.2
Will Trapp	4.2
Ethan Finlay	4.6
Dominic Oduro	4.2
Jairo Arrieta	4.6
Justin Meram	4.6
Team Average	4.4
Sporting Kansas City	Rating
Jimmy Nielsen	6.1
Ike Opara	6.5
Josh Gardner	6.1
Aurelien Collin	6.5
Seth Sinovic	6.1
Jimmy Medranda	3.9
Oriol Rosell	6.5
Paolo Nagamura	4.6
Benny Feilhaber	4.6
Soony Saad	6.1
Jacob Peterson	3.9
Claudio Bieler	6.8
CJ Sapong	6.5
Teal Bunbury	3.9
Team Average	5.6

Claudio Bieler with man of the match for the PK conversion and the assist. Arguably, benny did the work on the goal, and Soony did the work on the assit, but I thought Caludio had a decent game and was good to see him get back on the score sheet. Hopefully that adds a bit of confidence going into the final stretch.

And... that's all I have to say about that. Power Rankigns coming up in a bit.

MASSIVEly late...

Okay, okay, I'll admit I wasn't even going to do player ratings for the Columbus game, but I had a few extra minutes this morning and the bitterness of the draw has sort of went away, so here we go.

Columbus Crew
Andy Gruenebuam	5.3
Sebastian Miranda	4.4
Josh Williams	4.4
Chad Marshall	5.8
Nemanja Vukovic	3.9
Julius James	4.8
Eddie Gaven	7.2
Milovan Mirosevic	4.4
Chris Birchall	4.4
Dilly Duka	3.9
Jairo Arrieta	3.9
Federico Higuain	4.4
Emilio Renteria	5.3
Justin Meram	4.4
Team Average	4.7
Sporting Kansas City
Jimmy Nielsen	5.3
Seth Sinovic	5.3
Matt Besler	5.8
Chance Myers	4.8
Lawrence Olum	5.8
Roger Espinoza	5.3
Graham Zusi	7.7
Julio Cesar	4.8
Paolo Nagamura	4.4
Jacob Peterson	3.9
Kei Kamara	4.4
CJ Sapong	6.7
Team Average	5.3

Once again Zusi earns man of the match honors, and I think it's safe to say he's been having the best stretch of playing time in his career over the last month or two. Well earned Zeus, let's keep it up.



Twin ion engine?

You know, after leaving it all on the field in Philly I really didn't think this was going to be a great game. And, in all hoensty, it kind of wasn't. For awhile there I thought Columbus deserved a point, but the inch perfect pass from Kei to Teal sealed it.

I think Columbus lost more than we won, but 3 road points against a conference rival? I'll take it.

And, while doing the rankings I actually hit a first. A tie for man of the match. SHOCKING!!! But not really, I think well deserved.

Here's the table for the game.

Columbus Crew
Andy Gruenebaum	4.6
Josh Williams	4.9
Chad Marshall	4.6
Eddie Gaven	4.6
Tony Tchani	4.9
Eric Gehrig	5.1
Bernardo Anor	4.6
Chris Birchall	4.6
Dilly Duka	4.3
Cole Grossman	4.3
Emilio Renteria	4.0
Justim Meram	4.3
Olman Vargas	4.3
Jairo Arrieta	4.6
Team Average	4.5
Sporting Kansas City
Jimmy Nielsen	6.2
Aurelien Collin	6.0
Seth Sinovic	6.0
Chance Myers	5.7
Matt Besler	6.0
Peterson Joseph	6.0
Michael Thomas	4.3
Roger Espinzoa	5.7
Paolo Nagamura	4.6
Jacob Peterson	5.7
Kei Kamara	6.2
CJ Sapong	4.3
Teal Bunbury	5.7
Soony Saad	4.3
Team Average	5.5

So Jimmy and Kei tie. I think Jimmy had the better game to be honest, he really kept us in. So let's say Neilsen with man of the match and Kei with an honorable mention. Much love to the whole back line for keeping on with the keeping on.

Here's a picture of Jimmy Neilsen. As far as I know he didn't even need to retaliate with a brat.

And a picture of Kamara, just because.