US-Costa Rica, the midfield (R)

[superdave]

There was that stretch early in the 2nd half where I wondered where the hell our D was in the midfield; the Ticos had so much time and space to look up and pick out a man. But, hey, we won 3-0.

[Keep parents away]

There was that stretch early in the 2nd half where I wondered where the hell our D was in the midfield; the Ticos had so much time and space to look up and pick out a man. But, hey, we won 3-0.
Not many 50/50 balls won.

[lmorin]

Midfield was passable. Ralston played too slowly. Need more action out of that side. He did well winning CKs and keeping possession. I'd rather have seen Dempsey in the game than DMB who seem to be missing his touch. He held the ball too long on the dribble and his passing was a tad off. Midfield did not collectively knock the ball around sufficiently well. Zavagnin had a very solid game. Donovan on top of his game, excellent.

[Cweedchop]

I thought the midfield was pretty much absent for much of the second half aside from the lightning counters off of Keller saves.

It's good to have Beasely back in the lineup, but honestly, I just wish he wouldn't act like he's Valderamma out there with constantly holding the ball too long and trying to beat 2 or 3 defenders at a time. Again, good to have him back, I just don't know about him in the middle.

[IMOX77]

It's very simple Ralton is overmatched. Against England was one thing but overmatched against Cost Rica? We really have to start devolping some wingers for depth

[CPRoyale]

I think Landon had a nice game. Even though DMB was listed up top, he dropped back a little as an attacking mid. I could be content just watching our entire offense work through those two. They understand each other. But, I think as a unit the service to the forwards wasn't par, especially from the wings. The crosses were always over the head of McBride.
Not much to say about Ralston and Kerry Z. They didn't bring much in terms of possession (Z) or attacking threat (Steve). Steve did manage to hold the ball up on every counter. Has he ever taken on a player one-v-one? I would have liked to see Demp start and Rallston sub Beasley at the end of the game. I would give the entire unit as a whole a B-.

[virgin pose]

It's very simple Ralton is overmatched. Against England was one thing but overmatched against Cost Rica? We really have to start devolping some wingers for depth
Solvent = Gaven, Eddie.

[Nutmeg]

Landon played a pretty good game today. I thought he asserted himself more, and he timed his runs perfectly on both goals. I think he needs to track back more and help out with defensive pressure, but today that's a minor quibble. I think Landon does a lot better with certain players around him. In particular, guys like Brian McBride, DMB, and - yes - Kerry Zavagnin help elevate Landon's game.

Kerry Zavagnin was great today. He played the role exactly how Arena wants him to play, and he was effective. The only knock you could put on Kerry was during the 15-20 minutes where Kasey Keller had to bail us out. He stepped in and broke up plays, he played quick and direct soccer, and he picked a couple of good spots to go forward.

Steve Ralston showed why he's a marginal international. He just doesn't have the speed. Still, he is a useful role player. His initial cross led to the first goal, and I think the effort he puts in on the defensive side of the ball is underrated. He's pretty damn good at getting back and supporting his defenders, which is why I think Bruce kept him in there until the end.

Bobby Convey played a pretty simple, quiet game. He didn't make a huge difference, but he didn't make any major mistakes, either. He spent a good deal of time helping support the defense. I'd like to see him, when he's on the left, serve in more crosses, as that is a strength in his game. Nice nutmeg.

Clint Dempsey is a predator. He's like the lion hiding in the grass that surprises its prey out of nowhere. The defense never knows where Dempsey came from, but at least once a game he'll find himself in front of the goal in a spot to score. I've always said the most underrated "skill" of goalscoring is putting yourself in the right spot to begin with. Clint's got it, but it was McBride who put it away today.

[superdave]

It's very simple Ralton is overmatched. Against England was one thing but overmatched against Cost Rica? We really have to start devolping some wingers for depth
Reyna played a few matches at RW for Man City, when SWP was out, and played very well, very aggressively. I don't know if he's on Bruce's radar as a right wing, but he's on mine. Really, Reyna solves the problem, so long as you take into account that at the WC, he'll probably only be able to start games 1 and 3 in the group stage (age and fitness.)

[galaxy1320]

Not much to say about Ralston and Kerry Z. They didn't bring much in terms of possession (Z) or attacking threat (Steve). Steve did manage to hold the ball up on every counter. Has he ever taken on a player one-v-one?

Guess you missed the Colombia game...

[Walter3000]

Solvent = Gaven, Eddie.

Id rather see more of Noonan or Dempsey over there.

[ursula]

It will be interesting to see the competition between Ralston, Reyna, and Gaven. Dave is right, Reyna is the starter going to Germany, but will Ralston be able to hold off Gaven?

Zavagnin had an excellent game, as Nutmeg said. Carried LD's water with aplomb.

Convey was also good in a supportive role. Very safe. Nice nutmeg.

LD was excellent.

I thought Noonan did an excellent job in his time. He shored up the defense by maintaining possession.

Dempsey is to the Nats right now as Adu is to DC united.

[PSsoccer123]

I would give the entire unit as a whole a B-.
It's just shows how much better we've gotten even from 3 years ago when we are without several of our top players, beat Costa Rica 3-0, and our performance was only a B-.

[DCFAN96]

Midfield was passable. Ralston played too slowly. Need more action out of that side. He did well winning CKs and keeping possession. I'd rather have seen Dempsey in the game than DMB who seem to be missing his touch. He held the ball too long on the dribble and his passing was a tad off. Midfield did not collectively knock the ball around sufficiently well. Zavagnin had a very solid game. Donovan on top of his game, excellent.

Exactly, Ralston just doesn't have the speed for this level of play, he has a sweet cross but if he can't create the space to get it off (which he can't) then it doesn't matter. He was invisible out there, and should have been taken out early. Other then him I thought the midfield played well, Donovan went foward and looked dangerous, KZ did his job and Beasley was great. Putting Dempsey in sooner for Ralston would have given the team the bite it lacked early second half.

[virgin pose]

Id rather see more of Noonan or Dempsey over there.
I'm all for more playing time for Dempsey and Noonan, but I think Gaven is going to be important for us in '06. Similar to LD and DMB in WC02. He has great timing, 1v1 skill and vision. Not that Dempsey/Noonan don't, but Gaven has the ability to mesh very well with our other attackers.

[CPRoyale]

It's just shows how much better we've gotten even from 3 years ago when we are without several of our top players, beat Costa Rica 3-0, and our performance was only a B-.


Exactly. Pretty scary and cool. I was just grading the midfield though.
Goalkeeper gets an A+

[BlackLotus]

Exactly, Ralston just doesn't have the speed for this level of play, he has a sweet cross but if he can't create the space to get it off (which he can't) then it doesn't matter. He was invisible out there, and should have been taken out early. Other then him I thought the midfield played well, Donovan went foward and looked dangerous, KZ did his job and Beasley was great. Putting Dempsey in sooner for Ralston would have given the team the bite it lacked early second half.
yeah; Ralston just served poorly for pretty much the entire game - they were either too weak or overshot the entire box. he also sat on the ball and ate it up at golden opportunities we had to push on a counterattack and probably get a shot on goal. he was the biggest problem for our pace of the game in the 2nd half.

the thing i was most frustrated with was the inability to finish chances; it feels like it's turning into a theme, or something i've seen a number of times in different games (McBride has usually been on point whenever he plays, though most of the plays missed in this game were with other players), but really i think that (in the 2nd half mostly) the players were just not in synch with each other. there were a number of passes that were passed behind people when they were starting to go on runs, or passed ahead when they decided to step back. and at a certain point, there was one tricked-through ball at the top of the box that shouldn't have been, when instead they should have been setting up a simple and straightforward shot on goal - it made me think some of them wanted to play with their added technique on the ball prepared for this game than they wanted to score.
and of course, there was the major lapse in defense and organization that happened in the 2nd half, when Keller saved our hide.

in the end though...

USA played very well overall - good quick-touch distribution of the ball, and Arena's trademark hardcore push to score in the first 10 minutes of the game.

solid performance, but still a number of things we can improve on, conceviably most of it by the next match.

[voros]

Id rather see more of Noonan or Dempsey over there.
Gaven's a better winger than Dempsey, faster. Dempsey may be the better player right now, but that's centrally.

Gaven buries that chance Ralston hit into the side netting, guaranteed.

[Hedbal]

Gaven's a better winger than Dempsey, faster. Dempsey may be the better player right now, but that's centrally.

Gaven buries that chance Ralston hit into the side netting, guaranteed.
Should we forget Klein? Shouldn't he still be on Bruce's scope?

[ursula]

Should we forget Klein? Shouldn't he still be on Bruce's scope?


It looks like Klein is about 30th on the call up list. On the scope only if a bunch of players are hurt. maybe Gold Cup. maybe.