Knowing this is just one more stick of kindling on a bonfire of reports, commentary, rants, and celebration, I’ll (try to) keep this short - and bulleted.
- Dude, can we play Mexico every single day? They’re like the mechanical rabbit to our greyhound. Maybe it’s the green shirts; maybe we should ask all visiting teams to wear green. I don’t know. What I do know is we actually looked like the best team in the region yesterday.
- That quality went down to the micro-level: our guys played faster, smarter, and more crisply than we had in any game to this point. Whether it was a quick lateral pass by our players to get the ball out of danger and ready to head upfield at the half line, or that delightful string of quick passes at the top of the Mexican area that ended with, an admittedly feeble, shot on goal by Landon Donovan. We looked good in nearly every phase of the game to the extent that the exceptions showed as the merest of blemishes.
- Don’t get me wrong, though: winning was the important thing and I would have taken the crookedest of wins so long as things broke our way.
- Turning again to Donovan, c’mon and admit it: when he stepped up to take that PK, all y’all were waiting for a soft shot up the middle and an Oswaldo Sanchez save/shit-eating grin. So, here’s to Landon: way to step up, son.
- My man/men of the match (I have to go with two): Brian Ching and Carlos Bocanegra. The former left Mexican defenders in fits on two occasions with that spin while the latter contributed more timely interventions than any player on the field.
- And, yes, Benny Feilhaber’s goal was simply gorgeous...all the more so seeing as he missed his share of similar/easier shots in previous games.
- A special note to Jonathan Bornstein: all is forgiven; you had me at that shot on goal.
- Both 'keepers had sensational games. Sanchez kept the Mexicans alive more than once in the first half, while Tim Howard's late save on Bofo Bautista just settled onto the memory shelf of great U.S. Men's moments; it's right next to the winner Tab Ramos scored against Costa Rica way back when.
- All in all, we did remarkably well on both sides of the ball: Mexico had their chances, but we kept them down to a few (and Tim Howard mopped up the ones we let in); I’m still recovering from the shock of seeing us take the game to the Mexicans with a combination of grit, athleticism, and intelligence...it’s that last one that’s both big and not a little unusual.
- I haven’t read anything about how the Mexicans viewed the game, but can’t think of any grounds they have to complain. We done good and just beat ‘em.
Apart from noting my nearly-delirious happiness with the win, I’ll close with a couple questions (and, please, do weigh in):
1) Should the team we fielded stand as the U.S. starting eleven for the foreseeable future (allowing an exception here or there)?
2) Anyone think Hugo Sanchez might be looking for work any time soon? If not now, what would it take to lose him the job?
3) To make a bold statement: Clint Dempsey is our best field player. Anyone agree or disagree?
OK, that’s all I’ve got on this one. Can’t wait to read the gloating, moaning, general impressions that everyone else had.
(#########)
Showing posts with label Carlos Bocanegra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carlos Bocanegra. Show all posts
US v. Mexico, First Impressions
Holy shit.
If you've visited this blog in the past two, three days, you've read the thoughts of a man miles down on the U.S. Men's chances. And maybe it's the Pabst, maybe it's a fever borne of low expectation, but, damn, am I optimistic about the future. What comes below should get at why:
The Good
Conrad/Bocanegra: While I don't think this pairing is the future of the American defense, they played well enough together to tell me we've got some depth. Conrad's was the more high-profile performance - a winning goal will do that - but he was also rock-solid at the back. So was Bocanegra. It's undeniable there were a pair of gaffes in there - the two of them contesting the same ball, a move that momentarily hobbled Bocanegra and that big, soft whiff Conrad put on an early cross - but, overall, they held up well against decent competition.
Jonathan Bornstein: I was just blown away by the kid's performance. He looked ragged here and there, but there wasn't enough of it to concern me. He looked good going forward, he looked good defending...I'm not sure what else there is.
Ricardo Clark: Possibly the most encouraging performance of the bunch. It wasn't so much that he was perfect - he wasn't - but, on the few occasions he got beat, he busted ass to get the ball back and, often as not, he did. He looked composed, he looked confident - more to the point, he looked like he belonged out there.
Ball Movement: Until we got to the offensive third, we did pretty well. Yes, there tons of balls out of the back that landed at Mexican feet, especially during the rough patch that followed Conrad's goal. But when we calmed down and played possession, we did all right.
Bob Bradley: The highest compliment we can pay to Bob is that, 10-15 painful minutes aside - those decisive minutes after Conrad's goal - we never looked flustered. That's enough for me for now. He's also got some young players believing they can play at this level; one of them is named Bornstein.
Landon Donovan: He goes here not because he scored a goal, but because he tried the same move that opened up the space for the goal at least one other time. Good to see the former Golden Boy of American Soccer fight to regain the crown.
The Bad
The Offensive Third: The weirdest thing: when Eddie Johnson came on, Clint Dempsey suddenly seemed to pick up his game; while it's true that only wayward passes followed, those were some of our best, general moments on offense. Apart from those flashes, we looked damn near clueless. A total lack of size, of physical muscle may have been the problem; who knows what Taylor Twellman could have brought to the game? But we got seriously dizzy as we approached the Mexican defensive third.
Those Ten, Fifteen Minutes: It seems the Mexicans simply can't score against us - and that's the key thing that salvaged this game. Those several minutes - plus a few plays against the run of play besides - opened up some clear chances for the Mexicans; that they failed to capitalize doesn't excuse the fact that those chances were there and, on occasion, glaring.
Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Overall, I'm just giddy. We exceeded my expectations by country miles. The main thing was the basic organization, how hard we were to break down. Yeah, the Mexicans got their chances, but they were rarely wide-open. Good night, good game...good rum.
(#########)
If you've visited this blog in the past two, three days, you've read the thoughts of a man miles down on the U.S. Men's chances. And maybe it's the Pabst, maybe it's a fever borne of low expectation, but, damn, am I optimistic about the future. What comes below should get at why:
The Good
Conrad/Bocanegra: While I don't think this pairing is the future of the American defense, they played well enough together to tell me we've got some depth. Conrad's was the more high-profile performance - a winning goal will do that - but he was also rock-solid at the back. So was Bocanegra. It's undeniable there were a pair of gaffes in there - the two of them contesting the same ball, a move that momentarily hobbled Bocanegra and that big, soft whiff Conrad put on an early cross - but, overall, they held up well against decent competition.
Jonathan Bornstein: I was just blown away by the kid's performance. He looked ragged here and there, but there wasn't enough of it to concern me. He looked good going forward, he looked good defending...I'm not sure what else there is.
Ricardo Clark: Possibly the most encouraging performance of the bunch. It wasn't so much that he was perfect - he wasn't - but, on the few occasions he got beat, he busted ass to get the ball back and, often as not, he did. He looked composed, he looked confident - more to the point, he looked like he belonged out there.
Ball Movement: Until we got to the offensive third, we did pretty well. Yes, there tons of balls out of the back that landed at Mexican feet, especially during the rough patch that followed Conrad's goal. But when we calmed down and played possession, we did all right.
Bob Bradley: The highest compliment we can pay to Bob is that, 10-15 painful minutes aside - those decisive minutes after Conrad's goal - we never looked flustered. That's enough for me for now. He's also got some young players believing they can play at this level; one of them is named Bornstein.
Landon Donovan: He goes here not because he scored a goal, but because he tried the same move that opened up the space for the goal at least one other time. Good to see the former Golden Boy of American Soccer fight to regain the crown.
The Bad
The Offensive Third: The weirdest thing: when Eddie Johnson came on, Clint Dempsey suddenly seemed to pick up his game; while it's true that only wayward passes followed, those were some of our best, general moments on offense. Apart from those flashes, we looked damn near clueless. A total lack of size, of physical muscle may have been the problem; who knows what Taylor Twellman could have brought to the game? But we got seriously dizzy as we approached the Mexican defensive third.
Those Ten, Fifteen Minutes: It seems the Mexicans simply can't score against us - and that's the key thing that salvaged this game. Those several minutes - plus a few plays against the run of play besides - opened up some clear chances for the Mexicans; that they failed to capitalize doesn't excuse the fact that those chances were there and, on occasion, glaring.
Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Overall, I'm just giddy. We exceeded my expectations by country miles. The main thing was the basic organization, how hard we were to break down. Yeah, the Mexicans got their chances, but they were rarely wide-open. Good night, good game...good rum.
(#########)
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