US vs Panama

I enjoyed the match. Thought it was a good team effort that they can be proud of (unfortunately, that is probably a direct quote of Sullivan). Thought the D did very well (other than the panama goal but they kind of had an excuse). It was painful watching poor Jimmy Conrad. I hope he is okay and able to play on Thursday. If he's not, I thought Goodson was impressive so that's reassuring. Again, I thought Holden looked great last night, Beckerman and Arnaud had very important contributions too. Ching was his usual workhorse. Cooper was effective, but jeez he runs around like one of those Jack Russel terriers; he needs to calm down. And he takes his own penalty kicks.

For me this tourny shows the positive of having Bradley as the coach. Yes, he played some young up-and-comings, but he also choses people to reward them for their dedication to the program. And having been with US soccer for so long Bradley knows who those people are. I could be wrong about that, maybe a foreign mercenary would do the same.

More of you guys need to check in for the next game. It would be awesome if this team could make it to the finals.

Quote of the week

 

while not the prettiest match, i found it entertaining and rather enjoyed it (maybe it was the margaritas' influence too, after all, it was a long game...).

good comeback and beckerman's strike was sublime. conrad's concussion was brutal - he had no idea where he was; hope he's ready for the semis. cooper? meh, but nice stones putting away the penalty.

she's blindin', i'm flyin'...

 

It is a little late because I have been busy but here is my take on how the players performed:

Perkins did very well coming off the line and commanding his box. There was nothing he could have done about the goal given up.

Heaps was adequate but unimpressive.

Conrad was having a very nice match before being knocked senseless. Too bad he probably won't remember most of it.

Goodson was solid in Conrad's absense. I can't recall him setting a foot out of place in the seond half.

Marshall put in another very good performance.

Pearce was above average for one of our left backs but I would not classify his performance as outstanding.

Holden was once again very good from start to finish. For me he put in the best 90 minute shift for the US.

Pause was virtually invisible.

Beckerman's goal was well struck and he controlled the midfield in the second half. The first half could have gone better for him.

Rogers was disappointing and predictible. He has the tools but showed no creativity with the ball at his feet. I agree with Don's comments 100%.

Ching was solid. Too bad his header in the first half found the post instead of the net.

Arnaud made an impression in the match. I did not understand him being subbed off instead of Rogers or Pause.

Cooper got the penalty call and put it away but he gave the ball away far too often.

Overall it was not a pretty win but it was a win none-the-less. My one real frustration was the tendency to revert to playing over the midfield instead of playing through the midfield. The long balls to Arnaud were never really a good option in my opinion.

 

I think Conrad was a wee bit out of it after that hit to the head.

 

I was out of town and didn't see the game; how did Conrad get injured?

 

It was a head to head collision on a corner kick. Clean play with unfortunate results.