Emilio Renteria 7.0- Thought out of the two starters, Emilio was a bit more lively than Mendoza. Renteria had some good head's up passes early on, had one of the best opportunities, and dribbled well early on. Rating would of been higher for Renteria, and Mendoza if they could have gotten on the scoresheet.
Andres Mendoza 6.9- Not a bad performance from Mendoza.. Mendoza did seem lively early on and more interested compared to when he was on the field in late 2010. Mendoza, similiar to Renteria, ran out of ideas early on in the second half and was less effective.
Emmanuel Ekpo 6.4- Ekpo and Rogers need to step up a bit and have a big 2011. Doesn't seem like either was intending on stepping up last Tuesday. Ekpo had a couple moments early on. But, by the middle of the first half Ekpo was doing his dribbling to nowhere foray's that led to a few turnovers. In the second half, I forgot Ekpo was still on the field and thought he had been substituted. Barely got a touch on the ball.
Robbie Rogers 6.4- Rogers first outing in 2011 could have been better. Robbie's crossing was off, as in the first half there was a breakaway where a good cross could have led to a goal but instead Rogers fluffed the cross over the keeper and towards the Nordecke.
Also, Robbie's corners made me miss Schelotto's, nowhere near GBS's quality yet in that department. Not sure if it's disinterest, but Rogers needs to focus and have a big year in 2011 to get back to the success he had in early 2008.
Eddie Gaven 6.4- Gaven has had better games. And there's not as much pressure on him in 2011, as Ekpo and Rogers, because Gaven has performed on a pretty consistent basis yearly for the Crew from 2008-2011.
But, Tuesday, be it the cold or whatever, just wasn't Gaven's night; As Eddie's biggest contribution in the match was forcing a tackle by Beltran that led to Beltran's first of two yellow's, culminating into a red.
Cole Grossman 7.5- Cole was one of those pleasant new surprises on Tuesday night. Not sure what it was, but all the new players looked more focused... More than likely because there's more urgency for them to impress the manager early on.
Anyways, Grossman had an impressive tackle that caught into my memory and the best set piece take of the night in the second half. Could of given Cole a higher rating, but we'll see if his first run out is the usual or just an albatross.
Sebastian Miranda 7.9- Noticied Miranda all the time on Tuesday as he seemed to be involved and everywhere all game, snuffing out RSL's attacking opportunities. Miranda showed why he was a captain with his team in Chile and I could see the former Red Bull Salzburg player becoming a captain once again with Columbus if his English improves.
Really liked Miranda's bite, his acceleration/speed, and his decision making. Will see if he can keep it up.
Rich Balchan 7.5- Had Espindola and the rest of RSL's attack shut down, showed a lot of pace in defense as the Crew have seemed to select Miranda and Balchan for their pace as well; As overall this is a much quicker team.
Impressive to get a clean sheet with Iro in central defense, in his first outing against a team with one roster change all offseason in RSL.
Andy Iro 7.6- I have questioned Iro a bit in the offseason. But, give credit where credit is due, Iro showed up and played well last Tuesday night. Seems like Iro was a bit faster on Tuesday in shuffling his feet and keeping in front of his defender; As in the past sometimes Iro's lack of pace would get him in trouble.
Good game. Made good decisions in the back all night.
Josh Gardner 7.2- Had a good game surprisingly filling in on the left side; as nobody had Josh Gardner slated into the lineup predictions. Heck, Gardner only joined the Crew officially the day before.
But, considering his performance on Tuesday, and considering Gardner's solid play in second division U.S. soccer, he appears to be a good selection for some depth in the Crew's defensive positions. Once again, Gardner appeared to have good pace as well.
Ray Burse 6.7- Didn't have much to do, but also did not make any boneheaded goalkeeping mistakes either. So, gets a so-so rating. Got the cleansheet, but I could have played goalkeeper Tuesday night for the Crew and probably have picked up a cleansheet as well.
No joke. That's how unthreatening RSL's attack was.
Leandre Griffit 6.9- As a substitute in the 63rd minute, had a nice run down the right side at one point late in the game. Was about the only player that decided to take on RSL's defense late in the game instead of back passing around RSL's defensive shell.
Also, on a random note, Griffit has about the most impressive trap when a teammate crosses a diagonal ball, 30 yards across the field.
However, Griffit made a few mistakes as well, for example his one corner kick attempt late in the game was horrific.
Jeff Cunningham & Justin Meram 6.5's- I'm going to put both of the striker substitutes in the second half into the same boat; As both Cunningham and Meram tried to get open and make something happen.. But, then again the Crew's midfield just did a horrible job of being creative and making an opening or nice cross for Cunningham or Meram to get on the end of.
Both our exciting players though, and was happy to see both get on the field. One of these two will likely have to combine with Mendoza next Tuesday in RSL, since Renteria is out of the second leg with a red card.
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