Two of the four worst teams in the USL Championship met at Tidewater on Saturday, and they looked the part – as Rhode Island FC and Hartford Athletic played to a 0-0 draw in front of a sold out crowd, and a national audience via the CBS broadcast.
I would say this was a marginally better performance for Rhode Island than recent showings against Indy Eleven and Birmingham Legion – and if we had played a full 90 minutes like we played in the second half, we likely would’ve won the match – but the result is ultimately still inexcusable.
In the league, Rhode Island is averaging a pathetic 1 point per game, and have scored just 14 goals in 17 matches – averaging less than one goal per game over more than half of the season. I cannot overstate how poor that is. Only Las Vegas Lights have scored fewer.
But it gets worse. At home, since opening up Tidewater more than two months ago, the fans have seen one league win – which required a stoppage time penalty kick to finish the job – out of eight matches. Worse yet, only five goals scored at home.
Much like last week, I don’t have a huge problem with any of the individual player performances, but I do have questions about the tactics. I don’t see what goes on in training and in the locker room, but each passing week I am scratching my head more and more at the starting lineups and some of the substitution choices.
For those who are interested in comparing these ratings to other matches this season – here is a document tracking all of my player ratings for the season so far.
Rhode Island FC Player Ratings:
Jackson Lee (GK) – 6/10
That’s the first league clean sheet for Jackson this season. Of course, Hartford didn’t muster a single shot on target so Jackson didn’t have to make any saves technically… but he was still sharp when called upon on claiming set pieces, corner kicks, etc.
Karifa Yao (D) – 5/10
Team-high 12 defensive actions for Karifa Yao, including 8 headed clearances. It’s certainly not Yao’s fault that the players in front of him have not been able to buy a goal since his return from injury.
Rio Hope-Gund (D) – 4/10
After a rough week last week – where Rio’s giveaway in our half led to the lone Indy Eleven goal – Rio’s confidence looked a bit shaken. He was still solid defensively, but had a few shaky moments passing out from the back both on the left and the right.
Aime Mabika (D) – 5/10
Decent all around game from Mabika, as he had several defensive contributions and even had one of our best chances in front of net, off of a corner, at the end of the first half.
I am rather concerned how much his playmaking/progressive passing out of the back seems to have regressed (or disappeared altogether) since his initial few games. He’s looking like more of a rotational option at this point, rather than a nailed on starter.
Jojea Kwizera (MF) – 5/10
I said before the game that I thought bleached-hair Kwizera was going to cook… and I wasn’t exactly correct. He looked very much like himself from this season – our attack mostly ran down the left, and Kwizera spammed dribbles, crosses, and an occasional cutbacks with varying degrees of success.
For each good move or opportunity, there was usually at least one (sometimes more) equally frustrating sequence in between. In particular, Kwizera had a solid 10-15 minute window in the first half where he was really forcing the issue down Hartford’s left side and creating chances. He ended the match with two chances created – the second most in the match… which says more about the quality of the offense than it does Kwizera.
Clay Holstad (MF) – 4/10
Here’s the first lineup decision I did not like as soon as I saw the XI. Clay’s talent is wasted on the right, and we finally have enough players healthy that there’s no reason we have to be doing this.
As a result, Clay’s passing accuracy was just 66% (19/29) – almost 20% below his season average. Clay had his moments, as always, but overall he looked indecisive in this position and was often slow on the ball and/or beaten and bullied off of it – finishing the match just 3/9 on his ground duels.
Amos Shapiro-Thompson (MF) – 5/10
I think Amos can certainly hold his head high after this performance – for me, he probably played harder than any other player on the pitch.
However – another lineup gripe, unrelated to Amos individual performance – do we need to start Amos and Ybarra together? I find them too similar (high work rate, rarely giveaway the ball, always wins a 50/50, metronomic style midfielder, and not especially progressive ball carriers or passers), and their lack of creativity in progressing the ball compounds when they are played together.
Marc Ybarra (MF) – 4/10
I’ve been at the top of the list of fans waiting for Ybarra’s return, but I’m not sure that he’s the answer to our current problem – which is not being able to create chances or score goals.
Ybarra was effective at recovering and recycling possession, providing cover for the backline, and made some huge defensive interventions, like the one below. However I thought he was quite underwhelming on the ball. He completed just 19/33 passes (58%), and was 1/10 on crosses (which includes all seven of our corner opportunities).
Maxi Rodriguez (MF) – 4/10
I hate to say it but I was quite underwhelmed with Maxi’s performance on Saturday as well. The entire midfield felt disjointed, and while Maxi had some solid moments of creation (where his teammates ultimately let him down), they were few and far between – and this felt like a game where we needed him to seize the opportunity and carry the offense. Maxi did lead all Rhode Island players in duels won, so I want to give him due credit for that.
One of the most baffling substitutions for me was the decision to take Maxi off after just 59 minutes. Of course, it was the right call to bring JJ on, but I’d love to understand why Maxi was the player to make way. Despite the underwhelming performance, I think dropping Maxi deeper into the midfield and letting him provide for JJ, Dikwa, and Noah would’ve been a much more logical decision.
Noah Fuson (F) – 4/10
I thought Noah was actually ok on Saturday, but if I’m being consistent it’s going to have to be a 4 for the rating. The way we were set up, there simply wasn’t much for Noah to do in the first half – but he’s one of our only players who looks to counter and push the ball quickly once we recover it in our own half – and he’s at his best when he’s doing that through the middle.
When the team started to gel in the second half after the introduction of JJ and Hugo Bacharach, Noah’s performance also improved.
Albert Dikwa (F) – 4/10
Oftentimes we say that Dikwa couldn’t have scored if we didn’t get him opportunities in front of goal. I’m not sure that it applies for Saturday, as he did have 7 touches in the Hartford box and arguably had our two best chances in front of goal…
But in Dikwa’s defense, neither chance was a layup, by any means. The first, he was off balance and did fairly well to get a half-decent shot out of it. The second – shown below – Dikwa did everything just about right in my opinion but, unfortunately, Siaha made an excellent save.
Subs
JJ Williams – 6/10
Welcome home, JJ. He was very good in his debut at Tidewater, as basically his first two involvements in the match set up what could have easily been two goals on another day.
He really didn’t slow down from there, as the team looked significantly more threatening both in the air and on the ground (and on free kicks) after JJ entered. With just 17 touches, he led all players with three total chances created.
Hugo Bacharach – 6/10
I’m obviously quite committed to not going above a 6/10 in these player ratings but Hugo, like JJ, completely transformed the game when he entered as a holding midfielder, before eventually dropping back into the defensive line.
The thing that will stand out the most – rightfully so – was Hugo’s numerous marauding runs through the center of the park to set up opportunities on the other end (much like he did last week after coming on). But he also seems to be very sturdy defensively, and made himself dangerous on set pieces as well.
Frank Nodarse – 5/10
Frank looked mostly good after subbing on – and it was a bit of a surprise to see him dropped from the starting XI. Khano surely has some decisions to make with the backline going forward as both Hugo and Frank offer something different, but both look worthy of a starting role across some fairly crowded positions.
If we’re back to being committed to playing a back three – which I don’t personally agree with – then I might try Frank at right wing back (instead of pushing Clay out wide), and starting Hugo as the LCB.
Aldair Sanchez – N/A
Joe Brito – N/A
Rating Scale:
- 1/10 – Abysmal. You might as well have me on the pitch.
- 2/10 – Very bad
- 3/10 – Bad
- 4/10 – Below Average
- 5/10 – Average. The player did their job.
- 6/10 – Good
- 7/10 – Very good
- 8/10 – Great
- 9/10 – Outstanding
- 10/10 – Transcendent performance. Watch out, because Real Madrid may come knocking.
Tide Talk 
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