SD Aucas got a very comfortable 1-4 win away from home against Mushuc Runa. The visitors set up in a 4-2-3-1 / 4-4-2 which was depending on whether they were in or out of possession. Mushuc Runa had one player sent off just after the 0-1, and one after the 1-2 which meant that they finished the match with nine men. It was a low intensity match, especially when Mushuc Runa had their players sent off, and the level was not that high. Nevertheless, it was enough for Aucas to get their second win in three matches in the Liga Pro.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Jhon Espinoza
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 24-02-1999
- Club: SD Aucas
- Career: Academia Toreros (Y), San Antonio FC, Independiente del Valle (L), CD Clan Juvenil (Y), Deportivo Cuenca, SD Aucas (L), SD Aucas
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Jhon Espinoza played as a right-back in the match against Mushuc Runa and was subbed off after just 55 minutes because he was close to getting a red card and he did not play well. He liked to make overlapping runs and timed these runs quite well. Espinoza also made some underlapping runs but it seemed that he preferred to make overlapping runs. He made big, powerful steps when sprinting and looked fast. The Ecuadorian full-back occasionally got his first touch wrong when he received a through pass, but when he did get his first touch right he put in some decent crosses that did not reach the strikers. His passing was alright but he did not play any risky passes and did not get involved in the build-up a lot.
The defence of Aucas were tasked to follow their direct opponent throughout the game and this led to some strange situations, where there would be a lot of space in behind as every defender was just marking his opponent and there was space for the midfield to dive in. Jhon Espinoza was quite disciplined in following his opponent, but was a bit too aggressive and clumsy in the duels which led to him giving away a few fouls. He even did this when already on a yellow and was seemingly close to a red card before being subbed off. The Ecuadorian international got awarded this yellow card after he was too late in the duel and tackled his opponent.
Rating – A2
It wasn’t a great game by Jhon Espinoza and he needs to step up his game in the next match.
Richard Mina
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 22-07-1999
- Club: SD Aucas
- Career: El Nacional (Y), Técnico Universitario, SD Aucas
- Position: Central Back
- Secondary position: Right-Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Richard Mina played as a right central defender in the match against Mushuc Runa and did much better than he did in the last Aucas match I covered on Target Scouting. The defence of Aucas were tasked to follow their direct opponent throughout the game and this led to some strange situations, where there would be a lot of space in behind as every defender was just marking his opponent and there was space for the midfield to dive in. The Ecuadorian defender often did well to stay close to his partner in defence and also did this when Manchot would move out wide. Mina covered the possible runs in behind between the two central defenders in very well and did not get into any trouble because of this.
The tactics of Aucas led to Richard Mina needing to make a lot of choices in this game. It looked like he was out of position quite some times, but this was mainly due to Dario Tempesta’s tactics and not because of Mina’s lack of tactical intelligence. Richard Mina often did very well to get in front of his opponent when the midfielders would play a pass into the attack and intercepted a lot of passes. The Ecuadorian central defender also did well to get in front of his opponent when Mushuc Runa put in a cross which was deemed to be a very big chance for them. However, Richard Mina was quick to get in front of his opponent and prevented Mushuc Runa from getting a big chance.
Richard Mina kept looking at the ball in the 1v1’s against the attackers and won almost all of his duels which was very impressive. He defended very well throughout the game and looked strong in the duels. In possession, he mainly chose for passes sideways and I did not see any line-breaking passes. The youngster scored an easy header from close range in the second half.
Rating – A1
Richard Mina went from a B2 rating to an A1 rating and it will be interesting to see how he performs in the next match.
Alejandro Cabeza
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 11-03-1997
- Club: SD Aucas, on loan from Independiente del Valle
- Career: Independiente del Valle (Y), SD Aucas (L)
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Alejandro Cabeza, who is a striker, played as a left midfielder or left winger in the match against Mushuc Runa and did not really impress, which was mainly due to him playing out of position and not being played in the right role. The Ecuadorian striker is always very calm on the ball but can take a lot of time to play a pass. He can take the time in this league, but when playing in higher-intensity leagues he should be playing his passes quicker. The same thing occurred when being in front of goal. He would take his time and not rush his shot, cut away from his opponent first but then took too much time to shoot on goal and his attempt got blocked by the goalkeeper.
The young Ecuadorian has good pace and acceleration in straight lines but he struggled to hold his pace when needing to turn as it seemed like he has quite strong legs. This means that he will struggle to change directions when sprinting. The Ecuadorian attacker made a very good diagonal run which attracted the right central defender of Mushuc Runa to follow him. This created a lot of space for Figueroa and nearly led to a big chance for Aucas. He occasionally moved inside with the ball on his feet and liked to combine with his teammates. Mushuc Runa gave away a lot of space when playing with nine men and he could make a run in behind without being marked at all. He scuffed his shot as it was quite a bumpy pitch.
Rating – B2
I have to give an B2 rating based on this performance but he needs to play in the right role.
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