United was back to the grind on Wednesday after securing three points in Edmonton this past weekend. The team is getting set for their first home fixture of the year this Saturday against Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Here are notes from training, as well as the NP Community Match Ratings.
Injury updates
- Bernardo Anor will miss another week after a nasty collision against Carolina during Week One. He suffered a full concussion, and the team brought in a specialist to work with him during training hours.
- Greg Jordan got some preliminary touches today after missing last week’s match with a knee injury. He didn’t participate in contact drills and looks uncomfortable on the ball. He’s set to have another opinion on the knee later this week.
- Tiago Calvano was not on the field today after aggravating his hamstring in the 20th minute against Edmonton.
- Kristian Nicht isn’t with the team this week due to illness.
Trialists
The team brought in three trialists this week.
- GK Steward Ceus was the Atlanta Silverbacks’ primary keeper in 2015 and is a regular call-up for the Haitian National Team. He spent 2011-2013 with the Colorado Rapids. 6’6 with an incredible wingspan and fast reflexes, he profiles to be a solid backup for any NASL or MLS squad.
- CB Kwame Watson-Siriboe was with New York City FC in 2015. He’s tall and aggressive, but fairly raw technically. Watson-Siriboe, 29, played in six matches for the Carolina RailHawks in 2014.
- CM Jack Blake came up the ranks with England’s Nottingham Forest. At 22, he’s a very technically sound midfielder with a tireless motor and a very quick dribbler. His closest comparison in NASL would be Ibson.
Carl’s Corner
- On the first two matches: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, Carolina was our first true measure of where we’re at in 2016. We took note of what went wrong. Our defense was much better, more disciplined. We really need to step up and show what we’ve got. We’re far from the finished product.”
- On the centerback position: “I have no idea where Tiago’s hamstring is at. He missed a bit last week in training and aggravated it in the game. What’s nice for me (and not for Tiago) is that Damion and Brent had a great game last week. If Tiago needs extra time to heal, Damion and Brent are totally capable. Brent was very impressive.”
- On Andrei Gotsmanov being released from the club: “He’s a talented footballer, lovely fella. Unfortunately he was spending more time on the treatment table and not on the field. With this being a business, we couldn’t carry him. Tough to see him go, but we couldn’t afford to have someone who wouldn’t be fit on the roster.”
NP Match Ratings: FC Edmonton (4/9)
After the lowest NP Match Ratings ever last week, readers did a total 180 and may have been almost TOO generous with some ratings. That said, you can’t deny that the team improved against Edmonton.
GK Sammy Ndjock: 6.4
RB Kevin Venegas: 6.7
CB Tiago Calvano: 5.4
CB Brent Kallman: 6.4
LB Justin Davis: 6.2
CM Juliano Vicentini: 6.6
CM Jeb Brovsky: 6.1
RW Danny Cruz: 5.6
CAM Ben Speas: 8.0
LW Lance Laing: 6.1
ST Christian Ramirez: 6.4
Sub1 Damion Lowe: 5.9
Sub2 Stefano Pinho: 5.3
Sub3 JC Banks: 5.2
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