Orlando City vs. Portland Timbers: Player Grades and Man of the Match

I will be the first to admit, that was just tough to watch. From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, the Lions just seemed to be out of step with every other member of the squad the entire match. Sure, MLS is one of the toughest leagues when it comes to road wins, but the performance tonight was definitely lacking across the board. That being said, how did your favorite Lions fare tonight and who was the Man of the Match?

Starters:

GK, Joe Bendik, 6 (MOTM) — Tough night for Bendik, and by tough I mean he was by himself way too often. He came up with some absolutely needed saves tonight. He knew where the penalty kick was going, but he feigned a little too far right and left himself out of position to cover right. He was left alone against multiple one-on-ones, and did well to do his job. Unfortunately, there were a few that got by him, but thanks to him, it was not as bad as it could have been.

D, Donny Toia, 4.5— Toia, as with the entire left side of the Lions’ formation, seemed to bear the brunt of the Portland push. Donny was caught ball watching a number of times, creating situations that drew other defenders, namely Jonathan Spector, out of position to help cover. I couldn’t tell if Donny seemed slower than normal tonight, or if the Portland players were just that much faster.

D, Jonathan Spector, 4.5— Specs looked slow and a step behind from the beginning. Picked up his first yellow in the 14th minute on a sliding tackle in the box that the video review judged to be a foul, giving Portland a penalty. In the 47th, on a Diego Valeri Oscar-winning flop, he picked up his second yellow with a late challenge, meaning red, and exited the match.

D, Tommy Redding, 5.5 — Tommy had a decent night. He had some key tackles, some quality take-ons, and some key clearances. He was caught flat on the second Portland goal. Decent night for Tommy, although he was obviously slow towards the end.

D, Scott Sutter, 5 — I kept hoping to see him work in the first half, as he has been Orlando City’s Mr. Consistency, but the touches were rare simply because it seemed the vast majority of play was to the left. He got a little more active in the second, and got some more touches, but just did not have the same impact he has had over the past few matches.

M, Yoshimar Yotun, 6 — Just tape them up. That lip reading moment from early in the first half I think pretty well defines our newest DP. Yoshi had a tough night, even though he was all over the pitch. I can’t imagine how that hand must have affected his game, but kudos to him for taping them up and continuing to push on the field. He was all over, unfortunately though, so were his passes.

M, Dillon Powers, 5.5 — Powers held his own at the bottom of the diamond, but seemed to drift out of place a lot. I had trouble telling if it was him drifting, or if he was shifting to cover for a teammate. He had a good night, but again, like all the other others, was just off a bit when needed.

M, Antonio Nocerino, 6 — Nocerino had another decent night. He started on the right, and showed good hustle to get forward and start the attack in the first half. After the Spector red, he dropped to more of a defensive mid role, and clogged the center of the pitch fairly well. Also, I give him a little bonus for the captain's yellow he picked up while arguing with the ref.

M, Giles Barnes, 5.5 — Had some moments of wonder, had some face palm moments. There was a lot of hustle from Giles tonight, but like so many other Lions, he seemed a step slow, a step behind, and never seemed to be comfortable on the ball most of the time.

F, Dom Dwyer, 5.5 — Dom had a couple decent looks, got wide with the ball again, but nothing fell his way this evening. The overlaps were there numerous times, but the midfield failed to deliver. His hustle was there, but the chances were not, though he missed a golden opportunity late with a header that Jeff Attinella saved with his foot.

F, Cyle Larin, 5 — Cyle had a very flat night. He did a good job of dropping back to help his team when Portland was pressing really high, but he could never quite seem to hold onto the ball. He also received the ball a few times and tried to run at a defender, which would quickly turn into two or three defenders, and the loss of the ball. As with Dom, the chances in the box were not there for him either.

Substitutes:

D, Seb Hines (51’), 5 — Seb came on to help shore up the back line after Spector’s red card. He found himself fairly open on a corner and a free kick, but could not put the ball on frame. Other than that, he did well, all things considered.

F, Richie Laryea (69’), 5.5 — It was going to be an uphill battle for Richie, but he was active across the midfield. It’s hard to judge under the circumstances, but he did well with what was in front on him.

D, PC (77’), N/A — Seven minutes in and he gets a straight red for softly elbowing noted Oscar winner Diego Chara. I will hold my tongue on this one.

That’s all I’ve got tonight, folks. I could wax poetic for a while on all of what I think I saw during the match tonight, but I am more interested in your thoughts now. What did you see this evening? Who was your Man of the Match?

Polling Closed