Player ratings for Atlanta United following Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Portland:
Goalkeeper Alec Kann, 7: Scrambled to smartly punch away a corner that was curling into the goal in the 20th minute. Got down to his left to keep out a curling effort by Fenando Adi in the 74th minute. The goal by Portland would have been difficult to stop because of the angle of the ball and so many players being in the penalty box. Finished with four saves.
Right fullback Tyrone Mears, 5: Possibly the worst game he's played for Atlanta United after a series of solid ones. He Lost a ball out for a corner kick early and failed to get a foot on a nice give and go from Gressel. Then ballooned a cross in the 38th minute when Atlanta United had the numbers on a counter-attack. He killed another chance by losing the ball in the penalty box in the 59th minute. Continuing an uncharacteristically bad day, he missed a header in the 90th minute and then was called for a foul trying to chase down the ball. Portland failed to take advantage of the free kick.
Centerhalf Michael Parkhurst, 5: Picked up a yellow card in the 28th minute after breaking up a counter-attack. Either he or Mark Bloom were responsible in the zonal marking for not getting in front of Liam Ridgewell. Having said that, I'm not sure how either could have cleared it without resulting in an own goal.
Centerhalf Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, 7: He was stout early, cutting out several crosses and winning most aerial battles. He cut out a dangerous pass in the 72nd minute to stop a 2-on-1. He led the team with 74 passes, completing 81.1 percent, with three tackles and three fouls won.
Left fullback Mark Bloom, 6: He got his second start, but first on the left side. He really didn't have much to do defensively and could usually be found way up the field on offense. He won two fouls to help flip the field. Either he or Parkhurst were responsible for losing Ridgewell on his goal.
Midfielder Carlos Carmona, 6: Received a yellow card in the 36th minute for a tackle from behind that looked pretty bad. He completed 93 percent of his passes and finished with the second-most completed passes (71).
Midfielder Jeff Larentowicz, 6: Blocked the potential game-winner in the 73rd minute. Also had two tackles. Did a good job with Carmona dealing with Diego Valeri and Portland's talented midfield.
Right Midfielder Julian Gressel, 7: Scored his first goal in the for the team, coming in the 46th minute. Worked well on the right in his first start there this season. He often drifted inside to create space for Mears up the right. Probably his best game since the outing against Chicago.
Center Midfielder Miguel Almiron, 7: Showed his cleverness throughout the first half, and also showed he won't use his right foot when he passed up a shot that would have had to have been hit with his right foot in the 29th minute. He then passed up a left-footed shot from a tight angle in the 35th minute. Worked a clever sequence with Gressel that couldn't be turned into a shot in the 45th minute. As he typically does, he ran and ran and worked hard.
Left Midfielder Yamil Asad, 6: Took a shot to the head early and seemed a bit off for the next few minutes with his touch. Completed just 68.3 percent of his passes but won four fouls.
Striker Hector Villalba, 6: He smartly let Larentowicz's pass go by him to Gressel on the first goal. He teamed up well with the midfielders and worked tirelessly chasing down passes and through balls.
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SUBS
Mikey Ambrose (73rd minute, for Bloom), 5: In his first appearance this season, Ambrose enjoyed the same space up the flank that Bloom had.
Kenwyne Jones (78th minute, for Villalba), NR: Not enough time to make an impact.
Kevin Kratz (86th minute, for Gressel), NR: Not enough time to make an impact.
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