When the young and inexperienced Americans took the field on Wednesday, all that fans were looking for were solid performances out of players who were ready to prove they are ready for the real deal as the Hexagonal looms closer. The fans were disappointed.
The Yanks lost to Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain by the final score of 2-1. Trinidad was quicker, stronger and more composed while the United States struggled to find its rhythm. Bob Bradley's youngsters found themselves outmatched physically as the home team earned a crucial three points.
"It was a hard fought match. I thought both teams went after each other in a way that made it hard," said Head Coach Bob Bradley "In the second half, I thought we had a good response when we went down 1-0, and unfortunately when the game is 1-1 and everything is to play for, we have a foul."
The first half saw the stars and stripes come out flat-footed as Trinidad showed aggressiveness from the start. A dangerous free kick early on resulted in a poor clearance by Brad Guzan, gifting the home side with an open net. Fortunately for the Yanks, Michael Orozco managed to kick away the loose ball.
The first half was uneventful for the most part, but the second half saw more of an upbeat tempo, especially after T&T found the back of the net in the 61st minute. The home side was rewarded after Frankie Hejduk hit a wayward pass at midfield. A quick counter attack ensued and Trinidad found space down the right flank. Carlos Edwards took Heath Pearce for a dance before crossing the ball to a wide open Russell Latapy. The 40-year-old struck the ball as it fell to his right foot, and lady luck gifted him a goal. The ball stung off the left post and crashed into Brad Guzan's back before rolling over the goal line to give Trinidad the lead.
The U.S. equalized with a goal just 15 minutes before the final whistle blew. A faulty touch by Maurice Edu luckily fell into the path of Jozy Altidore, who pulled the ball backward and sprayed a low cross to substitute forward Charlie Davies. Davies easily knocked the ball in and the American juveniles looked to potentially leave T&T with a point.
But Altidore, who looked so brilliant just moments prior, made a costly mistake in the 79th minute as he yanked on Makan Hislop's jersey on a corner kick in full view of referee Walter Quesada. Quesada awarded the home side a penalty kick, and the 37-year-old Yorke converted from the spot.
Most fans wanted to see what the former could do when given the chance and last night's performance showed that although they have talent, they're not capable of winning games without some more veterans to lead the way. But make no mistake about it, this experience will go a long way for guys like Altidore, Freddy Adu, Jose Torres and co.
Even though the Soca Warriors triumphed on Wednesday night, Bob Bradley found some positives to take out of the match that meant nothing to the Americans as they've already clinched a berth in next year's Hexagonal.
"One of the objectives is that we have some players who have talent and need the experience playing difficult games. This was an intense game with a lot on the line, and it's important for players to experience that" declared Bradley "We continue to work as a team to improve and I think we've shown in this round that we're a good team, but we still understand that we have to get better. We're working very hard and we have a good pool of players."
The experience was indeed necessary as the next generation of Americans continue to grow as players. Bradley's approach to next month's qualifier looks to be similar, as he'll call in youth instead of seasoned veterans once again.
Perhaps the youngsters will have learned from last night's performance and will end the year with a win.
Player ratings (scale of 1-10)
GK, Brad Guzan, 5 -- Guzan's lack of playing time was evident today as he fumbled a couple of balls that he needs to hold on to. Nothing he could do about either goals, but still, not his best game.
D, Heath Pearce, 5 -- Being one of the more seasoned players on the pitch for the Americans, you would've expected a bigger performance. Heath got forward well in the second half, but he was outmatched against Dwight Yorke, especially as he was tossed and turned on the first goal.
D, Danny Califf, 4 -- Had a prime opportunity to show that he is capable of taking a starting role for either Oguchi Onyewu or Carlos Bocanegra but he lacked composure at the back. Got away with a mistake on a corner kick in the first half and was ball watching on T&T's first goal. Still decent for depth purposes, but a starter he is not.
D, Michael Orozco, 6 -- Not bad for his first International cap. Had some nice positioning and defended well. Cleared the loose ball that Guzan's flubbed punch failed to do. He could be moving up the Center Back depth chart.
D, Frankie Hejduk, 4 -- As always, he showed life and energy as he was all over the right flank. However, tonight could be the beginning of the end for Frankie. His poor distribution of the ball was costly, especially the wayward pass that caused T&T's counter attack on the first goal. Marvell Wynne is awaiting in the wings.
M, DaMarcus Beasley, 6 -- Beasley did a good job at staying active as he captained the team for the first time. He's no Donovan though as he wasn't able to carry the offense and kick it into third gear.
M, Maurice Edu, 3 -- Ouch. All the Edu fans that believe he warrants more minutes with the regulars instead of Michael Bradley were silenced tonight. Edu made turnover after turnover and didn't even defend competently. He was nowhere to be seen on T&T's first goal.
M, Jose Francisco Torres, 5 -- Did a decent job in his first start and showed off his vision as he layed off a nice pass behind the defense in the first half that Altidore couldn't get to. Was physically overpowered on a few occasions.
M, Sacha Kljestan, 4 -- The right wing is not for him at the International level. He made numerous mistakes and lost possession far too often.
M, Freddy Adu, 6 -- Retained possession better than most in the first half but as the second half unraveled, he started to drift out of the match. If Adu wants to become a starter by 2010, he needs to find minutes at the club level.
F, Jozy Altidore, 5 -- One minute he's celebrating his first assist for the National Team, the next he's hanging his head in disbelief as he made a boneheaded error that gift-wrapped T&T a penalty kick. If he can prevent mistakes like this, he's a bonafide starter in 2009.
SUBS:
F, Charlie Davies, 7 -- Moving up the depth chart at forward after a nice performance tonight. His goal was simple yet he was effective and put himself in good positions during his short stint.
M, Danny Szetela, 6 -- Did a good job at getting forward in his limited time. His late cross looked dangerous but none of his teammates managed to get a foot on it.
F, Chris Rolfe, NR -- Not enough time on the pitch to make an impression.
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