Deportivo Cuenca and SD Aucas faced each other on the fourth matchday of the second stage in the Ecuadorian Liga Pro. Both teams played in a five at the back formation, with Deportivo Cuenca dominating possession and creating most of the chances. However, it was SD Aucas who opened the score early on in the game through the experienced Roberto Ordoñez. Francisco Fydriszewski scored the 2-0 from the penalty spot, after goalkeeper Hamilton Piedra fouled his opponent after saving the first penalty from Victor Figueroa. Deportivo Cuenca managed to pull one back late in the game through another penalty kick, but failed to create any clear cut chances in the remainder of the game. SD Aucas now have 10 points in 4 games, while Deportivo Cuenca have 5 points out of 4 games, only scoring three goals.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Ariel García
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 08/02/2000
- Club: SD Aucas, on loan from Estudiantes ECU
- Career: Selección de Esmeraldas (Y), Toreros FC (Y), CD La Gloria, CD Gloria, Estudiantes, SD Aucas (L)
- Position: Central Defender
- Secondary position: Left-Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Ariel García played as a left wing-back in Aucas’s five at the back formation. It seemingly was a position that he wasn’t that familiar with, struggling to position himself well at times and not being involved in the play that much. The Ecuadorian defender’s dribbling technique was pretty average, he seemed not that mobile and struggled to keep the ball close to him while dribbling. After carrying the ball forward, García naturally did not go for a cross or risky pass. He always opted to play a pass backwards and go for the safe option. In settled possession, García moved high up the pitch and operated as a left-winger. He rarely touched the ball in these moments. The Ecuadorian youngster is not that athletic. García stands at 1.87 meters with a pretty lean build and he has long legs. It does not seem like he is able to generate a lot of power from his legs, as he lacked power when carrying the ball forward down the line. His technical ability was also pretty average, not being able to receive aerial passes. His lack of athleticism did not help with this either.
Defensively, he looked a lot better though. He often defended pretty high up the pitch because of Aucas’s attacking playing style, but failed to cut passing lanes and sometimes seemed a bit uncomfortable playing as a wing-back. In the defensive duels, García showed a bit of aggressiveness and tenacity which I did not see from him in possession. He did not give up and managed to win most of his duels. However, in isolated 1v1 duels on the wing, he allowed his opponent to put in a cross too easily as he failed to close the gap to his opponent. His opponent created a lot of danger with these crosses. The Ecuadorian defender closed the gaps towards the centre well when Mina stepped up. Ariel García gave away a penalty in a very silly way in the final stages of the game and got subbed off straight after.
Rating – C
I actually want to see Ariel García as a left central defender in a four at the back formation. I think he could be an okay no-nonsense defender, but he needs to work on his athleticism if he wants to play as a no-nonsense defender in a low defensive block.
Richard Mina
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 22/07/1999
- Club: SD Aucas
- Career: El Nacional (Y), Técnico Universitario, SD Aucas
- Position: Central Defender
- Secondary position: Right-Back
- Preferred foot: Right
This is the fourth time that I watched Richard Mina and the first time I saw him in a five at the back formation as a left central defender. The Ecuadorian did not have a great performance I thought, even though he did not do that much wrong and was pretty solid in defence. On the ball, Richard Mina was pretty adventurous against Deportivo Cuenca with a few diagonal crosspasses to the right wing. His long passing technique was not optimal, but he also failed to put the right power on his crosspasses at times. With his weak foot, his crosspasses were average. He had one situation in which he carried the ball into midfield. He showed good one-touch play in the small spaces and looked really comfortable under pressure. In settled possession, Mina did not get pressured that often meaning that he had all the time to assess his options. Under pressure, Mina showed good quick decision-making. Mina sometimes is a bit sloppy on the ball but does well to scan before receiving.
Defensively, Mina did not quite have the strength to disrupt his opponent’s actions in this match. Usually, he has pretty good strength in the duels, but against Deportivo Cuenca he came second-best in almost every duel with his back towards the goal. Mina defended pretty naive in some duels too. In one situation, he tried to let the ball roll over the byline and let it out for a goal-kick, but he got surprised by his opponent and lost the ball. In another situation, he completely misjudged a pass and the ball bounced over his head. The Ecuadorian defender seemed comfortably defending in his own box, doing well to be composed when dealing with crosses and having good clearances.
Rating – B1
I am pretty sure that I have a good view of Richard Mina as a player now after following him for around two years now. SD Aucas is currently one of the better sides in Ecuador and I think that this is his ceiling.