Cardiff MET defended superbly throughout as they grinded out a point against the defending Welsh Premier League Champions The New Saints, but how did each player rate for both sides?
Emilyn Lewis and Bradley Woolridge both stood out as Met earned what could turn out to be a vital point for the students come the end of the season and we have the ratings of each individual player below…
Cardiff MET…
Will Fuller – 7
A solid showing from the Met goalkeeper. Pulled off some fine saves and was helped out by his defenders at times to prevent the Champions from taking the lead. You can see how much he has matured in that Met number one role – wasn’t tested in the second-half, despite an onslaught from the visitors.
Dylan Rees – 7
A tough afternoon for Rees who had the responsibility of marking former Wrexham man Adrian Cieslewicz, and with the wideman’s pace and power, it was never going to be easy but for the majority of the game he stood up firm and coped with the winger. Helped when Cieslewicz was replaced with the less tricky Seargeant in the second-half.
Bradley Wooldridge (C) – 8
A real captain’s performance from Wooldridge. Led from the back expertly from the off and coped well with the threat of Wes Fletcher throughout and made a vital clearance, when The New Saints looked destined to score in the first-half.
Emilyn Lewis (Star man) – 8
What a fantastic showing this was from the centre-back, who worked well with Woolridge throughout. Not afraid to have ball at feet at the back and made a crucial intervention in the second-half as The New Saints threw everything at the Met back-line.
Joel Edwards – 7
All four defenders had excellent evening’s for the students but it was Edwards who had his work cut out the most, going up against one of the best wingers in the league in Jamie Mullan but it has to be noted that he coped rather well and tried to help out Met attacking wise as much as he could – picked up an unfortunate injury in the second-half which meant he had to be withdrawn.
Charlie Corsby – 6
Corsby didn’t see as much of the ball he would have liked but you are always going to have your back against the walls against a team like The New Saints. Tried to set the in-form Ruscrow free on a couple of occasions but to no avail.
Chris Baker – 6
Baker is always a threat when driving with the ball forward but with the way The New Saints setup, he didn’t get the freedom he would have liked. Always puts himself about and earned Met a few free-kicks and was brought down by Jon Routledge when he looked to mount a promising Met counter-attack. All in all, though, another solid showing from the determined midfielder.
Elliot Evans – 7
The best of the midfielders, loves the ball at feet and is a threat when he drives forward, almost looked for Ruscrow too often tonight, when there may have been a simpler pass on and cheaply gave the ball away which gave The New Saints a gift of a goal but luckily for Evans it came to no avail.
Nevertheless, it was still a good performance from Evans who almost picked out Ruscrow in the first-half with a sublime ball, which would have set the striker free.
Kyle McCarthy – 6
Some smart runs from McCarthy in this one but didn’t get the joy he would have liked to against a strong New Saints outfit. Struggled to have a real emphasis on the game at times, and sometimes picked the wrong option but some of the credit has to go to the visitors for coping well with the threat of McCarthy.
Jordan Lam – 6
Withdrawn at the break and was replaced by Will Evans. Lam is always a threat when putting balls into the box but wasn’t really given an opportunity to by Spender, who defended excellently. Tried to drive Met forward from the wide areas and look for Ruscrow – really can’t fault Lam’s overall work ethic, it was exceptional.
Adam Ruscrow – 7
Player of the month. You can see why as well, he’ll cause a lot of sides havoc this season as he has done already, scoring on three occasions in four games. Wasn’t given the service in the second-half to exploit the TNS back-line but in the first-half made some smart runs and forced a few decent saves from Paul Harrison in the visitors goals.
The New Saints…
Paul Harrison (C) – 7
You can’t ask for much more of your goalkeeper. A sensational point-blank save in the second-half from Will Evans’ shot kept the scores level. He also made a few superb stops from Met’s target man Adam Ruscrow.
Simon Spender – 7
Did the simple things well, likes to get involved in an attacking sense for The New Saints as well as doing his defensive duties and combined well with Jamie Mullan down the right-hand side throughout the evening at Cyncoed Campus.
Connell Rawlinson – 6
Struggled with the physical presence of Adam Ruscrow at times and both he and Blaine Hudson sandwiched the striker as he looked to breakthrough The New Saints’ back-line. Looked more comfortable as the evening went on, though.
Blaine Hudson – 7
What makes Hudson so liked amongst the New Saints supporters is the fact that he is a huge asset in both boxes. He had a couple of chances through his head to get that elusive New Saints goal but it wasn’t to be. More than solid defensively as well, good showing from the centre-back all in all.
Adrian Cieslewicz – 6
The former Wrexham man will have better days for The New Saints. Looked a bit off the pace at times and struggled to get the better of Joel Edwards at times. He is a talent, that’s for sure but not one of his best night’s in a New Saints shirt – desperately unlucky not give his side the lead when he struck the post in the first-half, though – withdrawn for Chris Seargeant as the game wore on.
Tom Holland – 6
Simple but effective, that is the easiest way to describe Holland’s performance on Friday evening. Often does the unnoticed stuff very well and has very good vision – set The New Saints on their way on a few attacks but like Cieslewicz, he didn’t have the impact he would have liked to.
Jon Routledge – 7
A good showing from Routledge, who loves to dictate play from the middle of the park and setup attacks for The New Saints. Did so effectively at Cyncoed Campus on Friday evening. Brought a real zest to The New Saints midfield, and had one superb run to set Mullan on his way in the second-half.
Aeron Edwards – 6
Another player who may not have had the impact he would have liked to. Didn’t see as much of the ball in the first-half, however, that changed when The New Saints applied pressure but by the time The New Saints were throwing everything at Met, he had been withdrawn.
Jamie Mullan – 7
A constant threat. Showed why he is one of the best wingers in the league, with some flashes of brilliance. He has blistering pace which will scare any defence, just a shame there was no end product at times on Friday evening.
Wes Fletcher – 6
A quiet one for the in-form man. Usually so cool in-front of goal but blew a glorious chance to give The New Saints the lead in the first-half but blazed his effort over. Can’t fault his effort and was dealt with superbly by Wooldridge and Lewis – withdrawn for Greg Draper in the second-half as Ruscoe went in search of a winner.
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