Report Card: Whitecaps vs Revolution

The Vancouver Whitecaps fell 1-0 to the struggling New England Revolution in the soccer equivalent of a handful of valium. The ‘Revs have a good team on paper but were second from the bottom in the east. This outcome was inevitable is what i’m trying to say (it’s all random and none of it matters).

Stefan Marinovic: B+

It was a bit of a shock to see Marinovic had been handed the start but he asserted himself well. He didn’t make any spectacular saves but dealt with everything that came his way confidently. It was a stark contrast to the nerviness that Paolo Tornaghi would sometimes inspire. You could argue that the goal came as a result of his poor clearance but I think you could just as easily put the blame on the players in the field for not putting up any kind of challenge to that ball. All in all the Auckland born keeper (we won’t hold that against him #SouthIslandBestIsland) showed that he was up to the level of MLS.

Jake Nerwinski: A

Another promising performance for Nerwinski. He defended well, and put in some dangerous crosses, one of which Shea should really have scored.

Kendall Waston: B

A solid game from Waston. No real notable errors and a couple of good clearances.

Tim Parker: C-

Parker didn’t properly track the run of Teal Bunbury on the goal. It was the only real defensive slip up from the ‘Caps backline and the ‘Revs made them pay.

Marcel De Jong: A

A quality performance from De Jong. Some good tackles, played out of the back well, and created one of two chances (including an overhead kick to Montero).

Matias Laba: Incomplete

Came off injured in the 30th minute and didn’t really make a strong impression either way up to that point.

Tony Tchani: C

I mean he was on the field I guess. I didn’t really notice him do anything. I vaguely remember him fouling someone so I suppose he did that. That’s not necessarily the worst thing for the role he plays but it would have been nice to see him make a bit more of an impact as he has in recent weeks. Apparently he also completed 92% of his passes which is a welcome change to what we’re used to from ‘Caps midfielders but Peter Vagenas also had a pretty good passing percentage so the numbers don’t always tell the whole story. Tchani had a fine, if uninteresting game but on a day when the ‘Caps were begging for some quality it’s hard to get to excited for that.

Cristian Techera: C+

Probably the best of the ‘Caps attacking players on the day, which isn’t a very high bar. Techera was involved in most of the half chances the ‘Caps created on the night and managed to hit the bar off a free kick. But Techera has never been the type of guy who grabs the game by the scruff of the neck and if you’re looking to him to run the offence without support then you’re going to have a bad time.

Nicolas Mezquida: D+

Had a couple good moments including setting up Montero for the best chance of the game (though it wasn’t a great cross) and a decent shot from distance (though it was straight at Cropper). Other then these incidents he was completely invisible. Makes you wonder why Marco Bustos can’t get a run in with the first team. If we are going to field players who are going to aimlessly run around and create nothing they may as well be Canadians.

Brek Shea: D

I noticed Shea twice. he held the ball up for Mezquida’s shot, and missed a sitter off a Nerwinski cross. Sad. Low Energy.

Fredy Montero: C-

Montero was back to looking isolated. Perhaps he should have finished Mezquida’s cross but it was at a bit of an awkward height so I won’t be to hard on him. late on he did well to get a half chance on target but he was hardly likely to score from their.

Subs:

Andrew Jacobson: C

See Tony Tchani

Yordy Reyna: C

Ran around a lot but didn’t accomplish much.

Alphonso Davies: Incomplete

Didn’t get the ball enough in his brief cameo. Should have been brought on much earlier for the woeful Shea.