CS Emelec lost their second match in the Ecuadorian Serie A against Guayaquil City FC. Emelec set up in a 4-2-3-1 and played direct, attacking football. They created a lot of chances, especially in the first half, but did not manage to score a goal as mainly Ordoñez and Bryan Cabezas missed some big chances. Guayaquil City played better after they made three substitutions and eventually scored the winner in the 79th minute after a mistake of the Emelec defender.
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
Jackson Rodriguez
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 07-10-1998
- Club: CS Emelec
- Career: CD Everest, Rocafuerte FC, CS Emelec (Y), Rocafuerte (L), Rocafuerte (L), Emelec
- Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Jackson Rodriguez played as the left-back in the match against Guayaquil City. He liked to get involved in the attacking play and often looked to make overlapping runs. For example, he missed a big chance in the 43rd minute after the Ecuadorian made an excellent overlapping run in behind. Jackson Rodriguez did not stay calm enough in the box though and could not direct his shot towards goal. The Ecuadorian left-back mainly stayed close to the sideline and his cooperation with Bryan Cabezas on the left wing was not optimal, as Cabezas liked to stay close to the sideline as well and they did not use the space in the half-space enough.
The 22-year-old Ecuadorian looked very determined in recovering possession through slide tackles and won possession on a few occasions when doing so. However, he very rarely got his timing wrong which led to Rodriguez giving away a foul. Jackson Rodriguez did well to stay narrow to provide cover when the ball was on the other side of the field and did well to stay in the defensive line. He made a very good recovery tackle when the left central defender got beat in a duel which prevented Guayaquil from having a chance to score a goal. The left-back seemed to have good physical ability, was quite quick on the first meters and had good pace when making overlapping runs. He was strong in the duels and won nearly all of his aerial duels.
Rating – A2
I’m looking forward to seeing him play more often and think that he is a decent left-back already.
Bryan Carabali
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 18-12-1997
- Club: CS Emelec
- Career: Club Estudiantes (Y), Deportivo Cuenca, Emelec (L), Emelec
- Position: Right-Back
- Secondary position: Left-Back, Right Winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Bryan Carabali played as a right winger in the match against Guayaquil City FC. He could have given four assists in the first half and impressed with his calmness in the oppositions final third in combination with his good vision. Carabali looked over the ball while dribbling to see if any teammates were in space and this led to him giving a very good cross towards Joao Rojas who unfortunately could not connect with the ball properly. Bryan Cabezas and Roberto Ordoñez also missed chances that were assisted by Bryan Carabali and the Ecuadorian was very unlucky to not have been awarded at least one assist after this game. The cross to Ordoñez was the best cross – he played an outside of the boot cross that had a lot of curve on it. However, Ordoñez made a foul before heading the ball into the back of the net.
He occasionally swapped sides with Bryan Cabezas but was found on the right side of the pitch in the majority of the match. Bryan Carabali made very good runs in behind where he started in the half-space to dive into the gap between the left-back and left central defender of Guayaquil City. The Ecuadorian youngster did well to cut away from his opponent leaving him on the ground but could not give a perfect cross even though he got it into a good area. He had very smart positioning in the box but was not found often. He opened up passing lanes towards the box as he positioned himself in between two defenders when Cabezas was on the ball on the left wing but he tried to get past them instead of passing it into Carabali. Carabali also did well to drop deep at times when Emelec were put under pressure on their own half.
Rating – A1
He is a right-back according to Transfermarkt but his performance from the right wing was very impressive. I will definitely rewatch him but he is a very interesting player.
Bryan Cabezas
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 20-03-1997
- Club: Atalanta BSC, on loan at CS Emelec
- Career: Independiente del Valle (Y), Independiente del Valle, Atalanta, Panathinaikos (L), US Avellino (L), Fluminense (L), Emelec (L)
- Position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Bryan Cabezas played as a left winger in the match against Guayaquil City and made the worst impression of all four players I kept an eye on in this match. Cabezas chose to operate close to the sideline throughout the majority of the game and liked to make runs in behind where he could use his good pace to get past his opponent on the outside. However, it seemed like he was not that mobile and often got his feet wrong when trying to cross the ball into the box. Also, I do not think that he was able to turn when he was sprinting because he seemed to lose his balance when trying to do so. The winger liked to give crosses over the ground and often got them into good areas. He constantly did this with his left foot making me think that he is a left footed player, but according to Transfermarkt he is a right footed player which could explain why it didn’t look good.
He missed a big chance early in the second half with his right foot when Bryan Carabali put him in front of goal but Cabezas shot the ball over the goal and did not have a good shooting technique at all. Cabezas had a better passing technique as he stayed calmer when needing to play a pass and could play good first touch passes when being put under pressure to play out of pressure. Cabezas did make some good runs into the box when the ball was on the right side of the pitch but never received the cross. He was quite sloppy sometimes as well as he did not stay on the same line with the oppositions defence which meant that he was offside. Cabezas sometimes swapped sides with Carabali but he mainly operated on the left wing in this match.
Rating – B2
Could become a good player in the Ecuadorian Serie A but can’t see him making it at Atalanta.
Joao Rojas
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 16-08-1997
- Club: CS Emelec
- Career: Independiente del Valle (Y), Aucas, Emelec (L), Emelec
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary position: Attacking Midfield and Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Joao Rojas played as an attacking midfielder in the match against Guayaquil City FC. Out of possession, he played as the second striker and Emelec set up in a 4-4-2. He was actively trying to cut passing lanes and covered a lot of ground. In possession, he played as the sole attacking midfielder. Rojas liked to switch sides in the final third depending on where the ball was and he was always available to receive the ball in mostly deeper areas (in the final third). However, he was also able to make good runs into the box and seemed to spot space very well when he nearly scored after a good cross by Bryan Carabali. Unfortunately, he did not fully connect with the ball and the chance was missed.
The Ecuadorian midfielder showed very good close control in the tight spaces and was very press-resistant. He has a very good technique and this helped him to play first time passes and to link-up with his teammates. Joao Rojas was very smart on the ball and used this smartness to get past his opponents. He had good vision in the final third and nearly gave an assist when he crossed the ball towards Roberto Ordoñez, who missed the ball.
Rating – A1
He seemed to play with a lot of ease and looked very dominant on the ball. I think that he can be a little more decisive in the final third though.