+/- Ratings: Sounders vs Columbus (MLS Cup)
Well, it's 2021 now, and I'm glad I've got the labor intensive data gathering part of this project of mine finished by the turn of the year. I hadn't so much as watched the highlights of the game before spending my New Year's Eve rewatching. There will probably be several recap pieces to come, but thank you to everyone who has paid even fleeting attention to these in these chaotic and stressful times.
#16: Joevin Jones (-6)
In Poss: -4
Out of Poss: -3
Transition O: 1
Transition D: 0
Events: 7
Realio gave Joevin a well-deserved 3. Three lazy plays in the first half of an MLS Cup, two of which resulted in goals is not good enough at this club. He should have been subbed out well before the half.
#15: Alex Roldan (-5)
1st Half: -6
2nd Half: 1
In Poss: -2
Out of Poss: -4
Transition O: 0
Transition D: 1
Events: 7
Alex Roldan was largely outmatched by a fairly average MLS winger in Derrick Etienne Jr, though he did not get much help at all from the players in front of him. He failed to help Seattle going forward either, and given the gradual regression of his performances for multiple games in a row, it seems a bit strange in hindsight that he was given the start over the more proven piece, Kelvin Leerdam.
#14: Joao Paulo (-5)
1st Half: -5
2nd Half: 0
In Poss: -2
Out of Poss: -1
Transition O: 0
Transition D: -2
Events: 7
Joao Paulo had an awful game, registering only 7 events, with 6 of those being negative. He was a liability in possession early on, and then failed to track back to pick up Zelarayan, despite having ample time, on the second goal. He failed to affect the second half before being subbed.
#13: Nouhou (-4)
In Poss: -2
Out of Poss: 0
Transition O: -1
Transition D: -1
Events: 10
Nouhou had an excellent season, though it was unfortunately capped on both ends by his two worst performances. He had more turnovers than usual, and killed three attacks (out of very few total attacks by the team mind you) with two bad crosses and a horrible shot in the 39th, 41st, and 44th minutes. He few bright moments, all of them in Seattle's half.
#12: Brad Smith (-3)
In Poss: -3
Out of Poss: -2
Transition O: -1
Transition D: 3
Events: 14
Brad Smith saw a ton of action in his 45 minutes, but was pretty appalling for most of it. He failed to provide any improvement on Nouhou in the final third, and was largely responsible for the third goal, getting burned by Diaz. He had a few good moments of emergency defense in response to other's mistakes, including one where he injured his shoulder. He also would have seen red in the 49th minute of a regular season game, though that was partly Marrufo's fault as well for failing to blow his whistle in a timely manner.
#11: Cristian Roldan (-3)
1st Half: -1
2nd Half: -2
In Poss: 1
Out of Poss: -4
Transition O: -2
Transition D: 2
Events: 18
Roldan was the most dangerous attacker for Seattle on the day, at least from open play, though that spell only lasted for about 20 minutes at the start of the second half. However, an ineffective first half, as well as a bad defensive display led to one of Cristian's worst ratings of the season, as he was partially responsible for the third goal after a lazy challenge on Diaz, after being dragged out of position, leaving Zelarayan wide open on top of the box.
#10: Shane O'Neill (-2)
1st Half: -3
2nd Half: 1
In Poss: 1
Out of Poss: -5
Transition O: 0
Transition D: 2
Events: 11
Shane's performance was probably worse than this rating indicates, at least by the eye test. While he was a catastrophe off the ball, and was the most culpable on the second goal, he did have more positive events than the non-Cristian Roldan players who I rated lower, including an incisive move and pass to Morris in the final third in the 71st minute.
The Sounders were lucky to avoid going behind earlier than they did, with Frei having to bail O'Neill out, after he fell asleep and left Zardes free on a rebound.
#9: Will Bruin (-1)
In Poss: 0
Out of Poss: 0
Transition O: -1
Transition D: 0
Events: 3
Bruin had a fairly uneventful appearance off the bench. He got into some dangerous spots, but his lack of guile on the ball kept him from making a real positive impact.
#8: Raul Ruidiaz (1)
1st Half: 1
2nd Half: 0
In Poss: -1
Out of Poss: 0
Transition O: 1
Transition D: 1
Events: 5
Ruidiaz was ineffective, as his teammates struggled to provide him any service for most of the game. He was clean enough with the ball, but good chances were few and far between.
#7: Gustav Svensson (1)
In Poss: 1
Out of Poss: 0
Transition O: 1
Transition D: -1
Events: 10
Svensson was an improvement on Jones, and was very active. Unfortunately, two bad errors, a turnover in Seattle's end in the 64th minute, and a late step leading to a failed offside trap in the 88th, tanked his rating from very good to just below average.
#6: Jimmy Medranda (1)
In Poss: 1
Out of Poss: 0
Transition O: 0
Transition D: 0
Events: 1
Medranda looked like a quality player off the bench, and if his salary is as cheap as I assume it is, we should absolutely look to bring him back next year, in my opinion, especially as he seems to be able to play anywhere in midfield as well as LB.
#5: Stefan Frei (2)
1st Half: 2
2nd Half: 0
In Poss: 0
Out of Poss: 2
Transition O: 0
Transition D: 0
Events: 2
Frei will be disappointed at flubbing the save on the first goal, though a spectacular save in the 17th minute balanced out his rating.
#4: Yeimar Gomez Andrade (2)
1st Half: 0
2nd Half: 2
In Poss: 0
Out of Poss: 1
Transition O: -1
Transition D: 2
Events: 12
Yeimar had a good second half, as he was frequently in the right spot to bail out a teammate. He had a small amount of culpability on the second goal, and was not effective with the ball on the day. On the other hand, he had the fewest errors per 90 of any of the field players, except for Ruidiaz and Morris, on the day.
#3: Nico Lodeiro (2)
1st Half: -2
2nd Half: 4
In Poss: 3
Out of Poss: -2
Transition O: 1
Transition D: 0
Events: 21
Lodeiro had a good second half as Seattle seized control of the game (or, more accurately perhaps, Columbus ceded it as they had a 2-0 lead). Either way, this allowed Lodeiro to have lots of involvement. His best moments were two dangerous corner kicks in the 51st and 74th minutes, as well as an incisive pass to Smith in the 78th.
#2: Kelvin Leerdam (2)
In Poss: 1
Out of Poss: 0
Transition O: 2
Transition D: -1
Events: 7
Leerdam had a good game off the bench, where he showed his passing range, being Seattle's most creative presence from the run of play. His pinged pass to Morris in the 73rd minute set up a dangerous chance. It seems as if he is on the way out, which is a shame, as I thought he was one of the better technical and tactical RBs in the league.
#1: Jordan Morris (4)
1st Half: -2
2nd Half: 6
In Poss: 3
Out of Poss: -1
Transition O: 2
Transition D: 0
Events: 11
Morris had an okay game, which was enough to earn him the highest score on the day. He was poor in the first quarter of the game, and then invisible in the second quarter, but improved in the second half with some good passing and combination play to help create danger. He hit the bar on a set piece in the 80th minute, shortly before the game-ending goal, and he had a nice knockdown header to create a chance in the 73rd.
Match Stats:
Total Score: -14 (29th out of 29 games)
1st Half: -26 (29th)
2nd Half: 12 (T-23rd)
In Poss: -3 (28th)
Out of Poss: -19 (29th)
Transition O: 2 (T-21st)
Transition D: 6 (T-22nd)
Events: 147 (16th)