New York Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution: Player Ratings

It was old-school Metro at it again, this time dropping a 4-2 decision to the New England Revolution in Open Cup play on Wednesday night. Head coach Mike Petke trotted out a full strength lineup minus Jamison Olave and Thierry Henry, who did not play because of their aversion to turf surfaces, and Tim Cahill, who was away on international duty. Yet, the Red Bulls were still unable to come away with three points, partially because of their inability to string more than four passes together at one time, and also because the Revolution- to their credit- did play well and capitalize on most of their chances. Now, we could sit here and play the blame game, or we could say the Red Bulls laid a stinker on the road and call it a day. Petke couldn't have summed it up better- "...we lost to a mediocre team because we were way less than mediocre." We should also probably note how Paul Mariner went from Toronto FC manager to color analyst on a internet live stream (and to no surprise, he's not too good as his new job either.)

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Goalkeeper:

Ryan Meara (7.5)- Good to see the Larry Bird doppelgänger Meara back in action. Turned in a solid shift and commanded the 18-yard box well. Nothing much he could do on any of the four goals, and made some excellent saves to prevent further humiliation at the hands of the Revs.

Defenders:

It would be a shame to assign a number to such a collectively horrible performance from the Red Bull defenders, so I'll refrain from rating any of them. (For further reference, see every single performance in 2009; yes, it was that bad.)

Midfielders:

Lloyd Sam (5)- Went invisible for huge portions of the game. Sam needs to skip the conservative route and take more defenders on, otherwise, his speed is practically useless.

Dax McCarty (5.5)- Struggled to make a big impact on the game. Uncharacteristically sloppy and careless in possession, and wasted a few potential buildups by shooting from far out.

Juninho (4.5)- Free kicks were alright, but he wasn't exactly lighting it up on the field. How many more games until he's considered a bust?

Eric Alexander (4.5)- Couldn't tell if he had touched the ball all game. I like Alexander, but he really needs to step it up big time.

Forwards:

Jonny Steele (5.5)- Scored a header, but looked uncomfortable on the ball and made many errant passes. An anomaly of a performance in what has been a good string of games for the Irishman.

Fabian Espindola (6.5)- Goal was primarily due to a misplayed backpass from Darius Barnes, but turned in one of his better performances. Could've had one or two more, but lacked service from the midfield