New York vs. Columbus (Notes & Grades)

No Federico Higuain, well, problems. The Crew slipped out of playoff position with the loss.

• Higuain adds so much from that withdrawn role that there is a natural drop off without him. His toe bruise is expected to be healed by Wednesday's game.
• Considering, Milovan Mirosevic put together another good game. He had the goal and nearly got a brace, but his finishing let him down. He was nearly everywhere in the final third.
• Dilly Duka shows flashes of his former self as he rounds into game shape. The offense will be much more dangerous if he's fit and sharp.
• The defense wasn't the shambles a 3-1 score line would indicate, but there are problems. Marshall is looking very vulnerable and Julius James still doesn't look match sharp.
• One answer would be to bring Josh Williams inside. He's a servicable left back, but much better in the center. That would mean that Vukovic gets playing time. Warzycha doesn't seem to want to do that.

Gruenebaum (6): Did as much as he could to keep NY at bay. His injury apparently looks far worse than it was as he has passed the concussion tests.
Miranda (6): Another quiet and solid performance.
James (5): Doesn't have the same defensive instincts that he did last year. Still getting up to full speed after a long layoff. Solli and LaToux were quiet on the left side.
Marshall (4): Really struggled several times with lofted passes, including on Henry's first goal.
Williams (5): Only caught high a couple of times, but still doesn't look comfortable out wide.
O'Rourke: (7): Impressive work as Dax McCarty wasn't as big of a factor in the NYRB offense as usual. Played steady passes as well.
Tchani (6): Kept his errors to a minimum and usually played smart passes and good touches.
Mirosevic (7): The goal a good effort to be in the right spot at the right time. He showed that repeatedly throughout the evening.
Gaven (6): Played a little bit all over the field and found some space to work with, but wasn't quite the threat he has been lately.
Duka (5): Flashing some of that quality he has, but still inconsistent in his performances. Much better with his passing.
Arrieta (6): Quite a bit of running as always and did well to get the assist into Mirosevic. Only turned in two shots all game.
Meram (4): Appears to be forcing the situation too often. It leads to bad passes or ill-advised dribbles. A little patience might go a long way.
Lampson (5): Faced two shots, one off target and the other was Henry's Olyimpico. Really wasn't anything he could have done about that one.
Higuain (6): Only 10 minutes to work, but he did create a few chances out of nearly nothing.
Coaching (5): Injury forced his hand regarding Higuain, but his insistance to play Williams out wide still is confusing. Gruenebaum's injury forced a later sub for Higuain as he could only go limited minutes.

Note on Grades: I have set 5 as an average performance. The player had both good and bad events on the field. Under 5 is a disappointing performance. Above 5 is a notable performance.