The team was made up of a solid English based backline and a mix of Chivas USA players and European based Americans in the midfield and upfront did the job.
Considering the opponent it was a good win. I was happy to see that Bradley's boys didn't play down to their opponent and finished when they had chances.
Here's Jeff Carlisle's ratings of individual players on ESPN:
Player Ratings (Out of 10)
Tim Howard, 6 -- Wasn't asked to do much, but did come through in the 18th minute when he touched Shao Jiyai's free kick around the post. Howard had little chance on Zhang's equalizer.
Jonathan Bornstein, 5 -- The Chivas midfielder found it hard to find space on the small field, and he struggled with his distribution a bit more than normal. One terrible giveaway gifted the Chinese a rare chance, but he recovered to force a corner, so no harm done.
Carlos Bocanegra, 6 -- The Fulham defender was solid in defense, although his weak clearing header preceded China's goal. That said, it appeared to be more of a team-wide breakdown (with a hint of luck) than the fault of a single player, and Bocanegra played well otherwise.
Oguchi Onyweu, 8 -- "Gooch" was towering in the middle, and capped of his day with a well-deserved goal. Due to the opponent, it's tough to draw many far reaching conclusions from this match, but given his struggles earlier in the year with the national team, as well as at Newcastle, this performance should boost his confidence.
Jonathan Spector, 4 -- The West Ham defender performed adequately on the right, but he struggled with his touch on a few occasions, and his crosses lacked quality.
DaMarcus Beasley, 6 -- Traded flashes of brilliance with moments of ineptitude, but the good outweighed the bad. Had terrific success with some slashing runs towards the middle of the field, but his touch and finishing seemed off. (Then again, when has his touch ever been "on"?) His delivery on Onyewu's goal was excellent, however.
Michael Bradley, 5 -- Spent the first half struggling with the speed of the game, and always seemed to take one touch too many. He also went to ground on tackles way too often, and needs to pick his spots better in those instances. He did have his good moments however. It was his pass that sprung Beasley for his eventual penalty, and he improved in the second half.
Benny Feilhaber, 7 -- Another big step in the right direction for the Hamburg midfielder. He seemed to be the first to adapt to the tight spaces, took his goal well, and had some well-timed tackles. His pinpoint corner kick on Dempsey's goal makes me hope that we have seen the last of Landon Donovan in that role.
Sacha Kljestan, 5 -- Considering it was his first international, the Chivas midfielder acquitted himself well, and it was his quick thinking that released Feilhaber for his goal. He'll need to polish up his crossing, but a spot on the Copa America roster seems within reach.
Clint Dempsey, 5 -- Started out wide, but gradually drifted up top, where he partnered well with Razov. He could have had a hat-trick had he converted all of his chances, and was too in love with the dribble for long stretches. No complaints about his goal though.
Ante Razov, 5 -- A solid performance from the veteran, who showed good movement and some good touches in leading the American front line. Razov is pretty far down on the U.S. forward depth chart, but he didn't look out of place in this game.
Subs:
Kasey Keller, 5 -- I can't recall him making one meaningful save. It was a day at the beach for the veteran.
Charlie Davies, 4 -- Showed tremendous pace, and brought the crowd to its feet with one mazy run. But Davies was also pushed off the ball a little bit too easily, making me wonder if his future for both club and country lies out wide.
Frank Simek, 5 -- Slid comfortably into the right side of defense, and might have helped his cause in his quest to earn a starting role.
Kamani Hill, 4 -- Had one darting run that caught the eye, but otherwise didn't do much.
Lee Nguyen, 5 -- Wasn't on long, but showed some flashes of his renowned technical ability.
Jesse Marsch, 5 -- With the game already won, Marsch earned his second career cap.
No comments:
Post a Comment