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So Benny with another big game, huh? Confidence kicking in? Just a good two games? I'm not sure, but I'm loving what I've seen, I feel like he's having his best year yet, and this is the Benny we all wanted to see when SKC signed him.
Generally speaking I was pretty happy with how SKC played, but I hate to sound like a broken harp... where are the run of play goals? Dom seems to be the only one who scores them, and honestl I think that's a little worrying. I'll have to sit down some day and figure out where we rank in regards to that stat, but I feel like we do real well on set pieces but struggle to really score anything off the (often abundant) chances we have in fluid play.
All that said, a goal is a goal, and 9 points from 8 days? I'll take it.
And is Robbie Keane the angriest man around? All the offside calls looked legit to me, and maybe even his goal had a hint of him being in the wrong place once more... but who am I to judge.
So let's go to some numbers. In addition to just a numerical ranking, I tried to pull out some key stats to help put a players rating into a bit of perspective. One thing I think Kansas City did well was keeping Donovan pinned back and taking on a bigger defensive role. Honestly, Donovan was a bit of a non-factor this game...
Anyway, here's the table.
LA Galaxy | Rating | Key Stat |
Jaime Penedo | 5.5 | 4 Saves |
Leonaro | 5.0 | 9 CBIs |
Tommy Meyer | 4.5 | 7 CBIs |
AJ DeLaGarza | 4.5 | 6 Recoveries |
Kofi Opare | 5.0 | 94% pass success |
Gyasi Zardes | 4.5 | 2 aerial dules won |
Stefan Ishizaki | 4.0 | 2 crosses |
Baggio Husidic | 5.0 | 3 key passes |
Juninho | 5.0 | 96% pass success |
Kenney Walker | 4.0 | 1 accurate long ball |
Landon Donovan | 5.0 | 7 recoveries |
Marcelo Sarvas | 5.0 | 8 recoveries |
Robbie Keane | 6.5 | 1 goal |
Bradford Jamieson | 6.0 | 1 assist |
Team Average | 4.9 | |
Sporting Kansas City | Rating | Key Stat |
Andy Gruenebaum | 5.0 | 1 big save |
Lawrence Olum | 7.5 | 1 goal |
Matt Besler | 5.0 | 10 CBIs |
Aurelien Collin | 5.5 | 8 CBIs |
Seth Sinovic | 4.5 | 88% pass success |
Igor Juliao | 4.5 | 89% pass success |
Kevin Ellis | 4.0 | 1 CBI |
Benny Feilhaber | 7.0 | 1 goal |
Graham Zusi | 7.0 | 6 key passes |
Jacob Peterson | 4.0 | 3 shots |
Toni | 4.0 | 2 crosses |
CJ Sapong | 4.0 | 3 recoveries |
Soony Saad | 5.0 | 6 recoveries |
Dom Dwyer | 4.5 | 3 shots |
Team Average | 5.1 |
So there's that. Although I think Kansas City had the better of much of the match, LA definitely hung around and had their chances. I was getting pretty nervey towards the ending, but all's well that ends well (see last week for a prime example).
Really excited for the Toronto match, I think we line up against them well so it should be an entertaining one.