USA - Guatemala Gold Cup Player Ratings Thread [R]

[USvsIRELAND]

Howard - 7 Dealt well with what he had to do. Nice save on the Ruiz shot. Kept it clean and did what he had to.
Hejduk - 6 I'm a Hejduk fan. He did what he had to do, sit back and let Donovan attack up the right. He ran hard, and got his hands dirty.
Boca - 6 Could have kept it a little calmer in the back, but overall did well.
Gooch - 4 First yellow was bogus, but dude, when you have a yellow be smart!
Bornstein - 6 Once again did well attacking down the left, but this is the first time I had ever seen him be seriously troubled internationally down that left hand side! MLS sides take a look at that Avila guy!
Donovan - 8 Played great on the right hand side with some great crosses from open play. Horrible set pieces though. When we went down to ten he dropped in the middle and helped kill the game.
Bradley - 6 Did well to help shut down the middle. Most of our problems were long balls and down the wings.
Feilhaber - 6 Wasn't as influential as in the China match, but still did well. Wish he was taking the set pieces.
Beasley - 6 Again did well down the left and worked hard.
Dempsey - 8 Great play. Once he left our level of domination dropped. He held the ball up well (New McBride?) and had great positioning for his goal. Caused Guatemala trouble from the start.
Twellman - 6 I thought he was great. Worked hard, dropped back, beautiful and smart play to assist the goal. Would have earned a 7 if he had scored his wide open opportunity. Like Dempsey, I thought when he left it hurt us.

Subs:
EJ - 6 Hard luck for him to come into a game and all of a sudden have to play down a man up top. Did well to help kill the game in the end.
Ralston - 6 Didn't really do all that much. Did well to get wide and help keep possession.
Demerit - 6 Did well to fill in for Gooch and showed his strength in bumping Ruiz off the ball.

[macavi]

All I have to say is am I the only one who sees that Oguchi Onyewu(how ever you spell it) sucks big time!!!!! HOnestly before the damn world cup.....just cause he is big......he is wack!!! I cant believe there is sooo many people out there who think he is good........and i respect US soccer, i think its really good, but when people applaud Onyewu's performance it just makes me doubt:confused:

[kjksccr]

I think Gooch is just prone to bonehead mistakes at times. He played decently tonight except he gets caught out on long balls for some reason (slow to react) and fouls needlessly or at least lets the other guy act like he is. I would like to see a center back with a bit more composure and ANTICIPATION. It is easy when you are already there.

We created some gilt edged chances and our biggest mistake was not being up 3-0.

[sidefootsitter]

Howard - 6 - I felt he should have kept the long shot in play, as there was no one around the penalty box... minor quibbles.

Hejduk - 7 - he was as active as a fullback in the US uniform gets ... this game needed his offensive effort there.

Bocanegra - 5 - no studs up tackles 18 yards away from own goal, per favor.

Onyewu - 3 .. WTF?

Bornstein - 4 : in this sort of a game, he has to contribute more offensively.

Bradley - 5 : ditto

Feilhaber - 5 : see above.

Beasley - 7 : worked hard, created chances, got the 2nd assist.

Donovan - 7 : worked hard, created chances.

Dempsey - 8 : (7 + one extra point for his goal) ...

Twellman - 6 : not involved enough, lacked presence .... give him 1/2 point for the assist, deduct 1/2 point for the missed header ...

Subs:

Johnson - 3 ... was asleep during his time there.

I'm going to skip others.

[flem16]

Not the prettiest sight out there but anyway here it goes:

Howard - 6 - not too much action but when called upon was there. He'd been the victim of some long range chips in the EPL this year and they almost got him tonight but he did well to clear it over the bar

Hejduk - 6.5 - I hate to say it but I thought he was our best defender out there tonight. He won't be around for 2010 so I'm not sure what kind of indictment that is on the current players but I thought he played solid D and pushed up well on the outside. He's definitely no center defender which Bradely tried to use him as until they subbed in Demerit

Onyewu - 3 - some people just don't learn. The first yellow card was questionable but the 2nd was flat out stupid. He didn't even go for the ball and instead tried to take out his man. We were already struggling at this point and that made things a whole lot more difficult. I'm always been a big supporter of him but his position as a starter is becoming precarious

Bocanegra - 4 - I expected a lot more from someone who had a solid year in the EPL. Besides almost putting one in his own net he has a tendency to panic and sky the ball out of bounds deep in our own end.

Bornstein - 4 - His worst performance yet although growing pains can be expected. No offensive threat and Marvin Avila ate him for lunch on defense

Bradley - 4 - Strung together a few nice passes but didn't do much to push the action offensively. He also lost the ball quite a bit in the midfield which helped fuel the fire for our 2nd half meltdown. He's still only 19 and much better than most any midfielder we've had in the past at that age so I still have high hopes for him

Feilhaber - 4 - see Bradley. For a good part of the first half I didn't think he was in the lineup. Completely disappeared for long stretches.

Donovan - 6 - Nothing spectacular, but still steady. He was out of position (what was Bradley thinking :confused: ) but did the best he could to make an impact.

Beasley - 6 - He isn't quite the Beasley of old but is far ahead of where he was at this time last year. His speed was a weapon and created the chance that led to the only goal.

Twellman - 5 - Just when you think there is hope (assist on Dempsey's goal) he misses an absolute sitter that should have put the game away early. World class forwards, heck, even decent forwards put that away 9 out of 10 times.

Dempsey - 7 - Getting back into form and he still seems to have that knack for putting the ball in the net (which is somewhat rare among our forwards). He misses his fair share but credit must be given for being in the right place at the right time and Clint does this well.

Subs

Johnson - 4 - I was expecting to see hat-trick EJ but instead saw the same old crap from before. I thought forwards were supposed to shoot when they got the ball open at the top of the 18 but Eddie can't seem to do this when playing for the Nats

Ralston - 6 - I cringed when I saw Stevie's inclusion on the roster as there a bunch of more promising younger players but he certainly brought a bit of calm to an uneasy situation. He's not one for the long haul but served his purpose well tonight

Demerit - 6 - Usually I'd say 10 minutes isn't enough time for a fair evaluation but Jay did the best job of any of our CB's in holding down the fort. I'm hoping to see him out there with Simek, Parkhurst and Pearce sometime over the next few weeks. There are a few guys across the backline that are underperforming and either need a fire lit under them or to be replaced

Coaching

Bradley - 3- The question of whether or not Bradley is the coach has been answered but whether or not he can pull the right strings is still to be determined. Yes, he's undefeated but horribly uninspiring performances like tonight do not speak well for the preparation/motivation/"whatever else you want to put in here" for this team. It was only 360 days ago that we were getting undressed by the Czechs and while we're not trying to field a WC squad today, it really isn't that far off.

[toh2007]

Howard - 8 Nice save on the fk and tip over the bar. Good positioning
Heijduk -7 Made some nice runs forward. Ok defensively
Gooch - 3 Slow, out of position, didn't need to get physical with Ruiz.
Boca - 6 OK, did what was needed. Almost scored an own goal.
Bornstein - 6 needs to work on the link up play with Beasy. Ok defensively
Donovan - 9 MOTM. Great link up play, nice crosses, good on the ball. Stop taking fk's.
Feilhaber - 7 He needs to press forward more. Show some more energy, and look forward more. Too many times passing back. Overall, played solid and didn't make mistakes.
Bradley - 6 Played smart. He needs to control the ball before looking around for teammates. He loses out on easy challenges by doing so. Potential to be a solid player. Bradley and Feilhaber shut down Guat in central midfield
Beasy - 8 Great wing play. Nice flick to Twells in lead up to the goal. Needs to be stronger on ball, but had some nice runs and link ups.
Dempsey -7 Best goal scorer we have right now. ALways in great positions in and around the box. Sometimes dribbles to much instead of passing it off.
Twells -6 Good work rate and movement. Nice combinations with donovan and beasley, but you gotta finish my man.

EJ - 5 didn't do much. No energy, just passive
Ralston - 7? didn't see much of him. He filled in nicely at rb for a bit. Slowed play down when needed at the end of the game.
Demerit - 7 Positions himself well. Didn't hear ffrom Ruiz after he stepped into the game.

[USvsIRELAND]

Subs:

Johnson - 3 ... was asleep during his time there.


I generally agree with all your rankings except this one. EJ came into the game when it was still 11v11, and Twellman was still in.

EJ is NOT a Target man or anything of the sort. Most his goals in MLS this season have been breakaways, good positioning or EJ beating a man and then shooting.

I expected him to play off Twellman.

But then Twellman got subbed off and Gooch got a red all in less than 15 minutes.

So EJ is left to play upfront by himself, which he is obviously not the best at.

If we use EJ and play his strengths he will be a deadly force for us.

[casoccerdad47]

[U][B]Bradley - 6 Played smart. He needs to control the ball before looking around for teammates. He loses out on easy challenges by doing so. Potential to be a solid player. Bradley and Feilhaber shut down Guat in central midfield



If you don't know where you're teammates are before you receive the ball when pressured by the defense, you're going to be in trouble. He may have lost the ball once or twice when looking around, but he may well have lost the ball in the same situation if he was totally focused on the ball and didn't know where either his teammates or the defenders were.

[shooter6065]

Howard- 6.5 Great hands on the free kick that got through the wall; solid.

Hejduk- 7 Got up and down the flank, some nice crosses, basically closed down his side of the field.

Bocanegra- 7 Like is EPL performances, he always comes close to the abyss but steps away in the end.

Onyewu- 3 When he wasn't out of position he was fouling. Those cards would not have been cards anywhere but CONCACAF but you got to be smarter than that.

Bornstein- 5 Gave far too much room to his man. Started goal sequence though. He needs all that speed to bail himself out at least once every half I have seen him play.

Donovan- 7.5 Gave the Guats all they could handle.

Feilhaber- 7 Did a bit of everything; sprayed passes around, key defensive stops, important clearances etc.

Bradley- 6 Up and down; Mastroeni's toughness would have helped in this slot tonight and was missed.

Beasley- 7 Solid over all; His confidence is clearly back.

Twellman- 6 His open header from 7 yards could have put the game away and avoided the ugly finish. If he wants to stick around he HAS to finish his chances. Nice assist though.

Dempsey- 7.5 Was clearly a marked man as Guatemala fouled him early and often. Nice finish

Subs:
Johnson- 4.5 Passed up two opportunities to turn and shoot. He's never afraid to shoot in MLS but for the Nats he is very tentative.

Demerit- 7 Bottled up that pest Ruiz who we never heard from again once he got on in the 80th.

Ralston- 5.5 Not much to say.

[olephill2]

Howard - 7
Didn't have too much to do, but made the necessary saves and seemed to help calm the defense when it was on the verge of panicking in the 2nd half.

Hejduk - 8
Man of the Match in my book. Tremendous work rate down the right flank and a perfect choice for a match like this where the opposition bunkers because of his ability to attack from the backline. He just doesn't get tired either. He didn't get beat defensively, and while he didn't have much to do defensively, didn't make any mistakes back there either. Fewer turnovers than we normally see out of Heydude too, which was a welcome surprise.

Onyewu - 4
My patience is wearing thin. He needs to not be so physical--most refs are going to bust him on it every time. He compensated for a lack of speed & agility today with grabbing and shoving, and he needs to play smarter when he already has a yellow card. In the first half, though, he was solid, which is why I give him a 4 instead of a 3.

Bocanegra - 6
Solid in the back throughout the match except for one very poor clearance early that almost resulted in an own goal. He still tends to panic sometimes when under pressure which is surprisng given that he's an established EPL player, but when he's relaxed and composed, he's a very solid CB.

Bornstein - 5
Not a great match from him tonight. Gave his opponents way too much space and needs to close down better. He also didn't contribute as much to the attack as Hejduk (though part of that may have been because Guate wasn't attacking down Hejduk's flank). We've seen better out of JB.

Donovan - 7
Solid match. Bad freekicks, but good crosses during the run of play. RM is not his position--he needs to be in a more centralized role and command more of the ball. His ability to control possession in tight spaces, though, is something that none of our other guys could do, except for maybe Twellman & Beasley.

Feilhaber - 5
Pretty good in the 1st half, but then he disappeared for major stretches of the 2nd half. I want to see him play in a more advanced role instead of hanging back so much. He's not a defensive mid and he shouldn't be playing as one. Overall, I've seen better but I'm still very high on the kid.

Bradley - 6
Pretty good effort defensively, and he had a few really nice passes out to spring the wing players. I don't remember him making too many mistakes, and he remained fairly composed throughout the match.

Beasley - 7
Good 1st half, and excellent job setting up Twellman for the assist on the goal. I'd like to see Beasley be more aggressive going to goal, and he needed to put more power on his shots, but overall a good game, and he controlled possession well.

Dempsey - 7
Shouldn't be playing striker. He's best utilized on the wing where he has more space and the ability to run at defenders 1v1 instead of having his back to goal. Still, he did a solid job tracking back to get the ball and didn't make many, if any, mistakes. Anyone who scores goals also gets credit in my book.

Twellman - 7
Very good game from Twellman. He held the ball up top very well, didn't turn the ball over, and did a very nice job of linking up with midfielders to control possession. His passing was crisp, and put in a great effort and a great workrate challenging for balls in the air. His assist was beautiful, IMO, and the run up to it and the final pass were both very well played. He deserves another start, this time paired with either Johnson or Donovan up top (a more natural striker, in other words, than Dempsey).

Substitutes:

Eddie Johnson - 4
Not really his fault that he was placed alone up top once Gooch wigged out on us, but EJ really was asleep at the wheel. I had high hopes based on his MLS form, but we just got the same old tonight, even when it was 11v11. He needs to be more aggressive, take shots, take on defenders and use his speed as an asset. I'm willing to give him the start on Saturday and give him a good 60-90 minutes to really see what he can do when paired with a Taylor Twellman--someone who can hold the ball up top.

Steve Ralston - NR
Didn't really see enough of Steve to fairly grade him. He was a veteran presence when we certainly needed one though, so I don't object to his appearance.

Jay DeMerit - 6
Didn't see a ton of him, so I'm not the best judge, but he seemed highly composed out there and I heard nothing of Ruiz once he entered. He certainly played smarter than Onyewu, and has solid positioning. I really hope he starts on Saturday so we can see what he can do. The only thing I don't like about Jay is his insistence on playing the long ball forward (which he's used to from EPL style of play), and he needs to learn to keep the ball on the ground in a style more suited to the USMNT.

[Martino2Buddle]

I generally agree with all your rankings except this one. EJ came into the game when it was still 11v11, and Twellman was still in.

EJ is NOT a Target man or anything of the sort. Most his goals in MLS this season have been breakaways, good positioning or EJ beating a man and then shooting.

I expected him to play off Twellman.

But then Twellman got subbed off and Gooch got a red all in less than 15 minutes.

So EJ is left to play upfront by himself, which he is obviously not the best at.

If we use EJ and play his strengths he will be a deadly force for us.

Agree. EJ will be fine, he just needs to have a partner up top and more minutes and he will be fine.

[Martino2Buddle]

Hejduk - 8
Man of the Match in my book. Tremendous work rate down the right flank and a perfect choice for a match like this where the opposition bunkers because of his ability to attack from the backline. He just doesn't get tired either. He didn't get beat defensively, and while he didn't have much to do defensively, didn't make any mistakes back there either. Fewer turnovers than we normally see out of Heydude too, which was a welcome surprise.



Let's not forget he hog-tied that Guat not far outside the box setting up dangerous free kick. I admit he played OK but an "8" is way overrated which BTW is what Hejduk is. He's not even in top 30 of fastest players in the national pool. Not to admit he loves making the negative pass.

[Bigrose30]

All I have to say is am I the only one who sees that Oguchi Onyewu(how ever you spell it) sucks big time!!!!! HOnestly before the damn world cup.....just cause he is big......he is wack!!! I cant believe there is sooo many people out there who think he is good........and i respect US soccer, i think its really good, but when people applaud Onyewu's performance it just makes me doubt:confused:

No. You're the first person to ever rag on Gooch on bigsoccer.

[Aquarius21]

Let's not forget he hog-tied that Guat not far outside the box setting up dangerous free kick. I admit he played OK but an "8" is way overrated which BTW is what Hejduk is. He's not even in top 30 of fastest players in the national pool. Not to admit he loves making the negative pass.

Even though he won the beep test last year, and couldn't defend it this year simply b/c he was coming off an ACL tear? I personally liked the fact he "hog-tied" a Guat, would have liked some more space between the foul spot and the goal, but the guy deserved it. He's an tireless worker and as someone said to me, if all the players had his work rate, we'd be a much better team. Can you imagine if someone like Mathis had Hedjuk's work rate? I know these boards aren't kind to Hejduk but he work's his @$$ off and personally that's more important to me than skill b/c it shows me he wants to be there

[Martin Fischer]

Howard - 6 Solid, without major errors, though rarely challenged..
Hejduk - 5 Some dicey passing and a couple of fouls that put us at risk -- but his activity level makes him a better pick than Spector or Simek, especially in a game like this..
Boca - 5 Struggled at times, but held down the fort.
Gooch - 2.5 Deserved cards for persistent fouling. Seems more interested in playing a 3rd grade game of grab-a$$ than soccer. Even his one could intervention was making up for falling asleep. Contrast this performance in terms of how nervous you were compared to the job Conrad and Demerit did on Ruiz in the earlier friendly.
Bornstein - 5 I don't think he made a great contribution to the attack. On the other hand, I don't think Avilla, despite making Bornstein scramble, accomplished much.
Donovan - 6 Given past history, surprising success on the right. Only flaw is that he appears to have lost his ability and/or confidence to finish.
Bradley - 4 Maybe its more his father's fault for playing him in a game where his best skills weren't need.
Feilhaber - 6 I thought he did a good job holding the ball and distributing.
Beasley - 5.5 Great first half, sleepy second half.
Dempsey - 6 He finished. Other than that, he had moments, but didn't quite pull it off.
Twellman - 5 Worked hard, nice assist, blown finish. Given EJ's problems and Ching's struggles to finish in MLS, he will get more chances, but TT only works as an international player if he finishes a high percentage of his chances.
EJ - 4.5 Looked like a deer in the headlights initially.
Ralston - 5 Solid
Demerit - 5.5 Too short a time to really evaluate, but he sure settled things down.

[El Steve]

Let's not forget he hog-tied that Guat not far outside the box setting up dangerous free kick. I admit he played OK but an "8" is way overrated which BTW is what Hejduk is. He's not even in top 30 of fastest players in the national pool. Not to admit he loves making the negative pass.

Yeah, but at least you admit he was good during this game... I thought he played inspired... obviously the hog tie was awful, and I'm semi-surprised he didn't get a red for it... it was that brutal.

But he made good runs down the wings and I do not recall him really getting beat... could be worst choices at RB, I think it was a good decision to play him against a team like Guatemala... I wouldn't expect Simek or Spector to try to be as involved in breaking down the bunker as Heydude.

[cc-atl]

Howard - 7 - Looked Good
Hejduk - 6.5 - Was the best play from a LB or RB we have seen all year. Solid in defense and dangerous in attack.
Boca - 5 - Solid most of the game, but came inches away from an own goal.
Gooch - 3 - Ruiz got in his head. Should be experienced enough now to keep that from happening.
Bornstein - 5.5 - Not bad. Did not hurt but did not help.
Donovan - 7.5 - It was nice having a guy that can cross and run at defenders playing wide right. Free kicks were pretty bad.
Bradley - 6 - Solid game. If he could develop some dribbling skills he would be very well rounded.
Feilhaber - 5.5 - Seemed to me like he was trying to do too much.
Beasley - 6 - Typical Beasley. Dangerous at times pretty bad touches at others. But overall good game.
Dempsey - 7 - He floated around the pitch a lot but seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Good finish.
Twellman - 6 - Played well. Always can count on him to work hard. Too bad he just can't seem to finish consitentently for the Nats.

Subs:
EJ - 5.5 - Did not show much but most of the time was playing a man down with a 1-0 lead so hard to judge.
Ralston - 6 - typical solid performance
Demerit - 6 - looked pretty impressive

[dcole]

Donovan- 8: I love him out wide on the right and have been calling for it for the last year. Plays great out there and keeps him involved. Love his defensive cover and hustle. Did well to control the tempo and pssing was excellent. Can we please get a new fk taker though?!?!

Dempsey- 8: Definitely our dangerman. Love him up top and big ups to Bob for making that happen. Good run on the goal.

Twellman- 7.5: I thought he had a truly excellent game. His rating would be higher if he had buried that free header. It was not poorly taken, but gotta score that one. His runs and passes were great and, most importantly, his tracking back and showing for the ball in the second half were outstanding. Best Nat Twellman showing for me, including the hat trick game, because he showed some new dimensions in this one.

Hejduk- 7.5: Would have been higher but for the reckless challenges. That body slam was a red cardable offense and we were very lucky not to draw it. Great runs forward and solid in defense aside from the recklessness. But the recklessnes and card propensity are BIG problems.

Beasley- 6: Very dangerous, but should have scored one or two. Definitely should have scored the one in the first half that hit the defender's back foot. Nice flick to Twellman though. Good recovery on defense.

Boca- 6: A bad foul or two, but a decent defensive effort. Did well to cover for Bornstein and Hejduk when they advanced. Playing with Gooch can't be easy. Nice header off a corner in the opening minutes.

DeMerit- 6: Did well to settle the back line upon entry into the game. I felt MUCH more comfortable with him back there than with Gooch. I like DeMerit's game and am glad he'll get run in the next one. Hopefully, he'll cement his place as a first choice center back.

Feilhaber- 5.5: Quite good at times and other times lost his composure. A few really bad passes, like the one he sprayed out of bounds after starting a nice dribbling run. Needs to settle down. Decent job overall.

Ralston- 5: Mix of good and bad. Positioning was good, but had one very bad giveaway on a back pass that could have cost us dearly.

Bornstein- 5: Liked his offensive effort. Nice ball into Beasley that led to the goal. Got beaten badly a few times on defense and got caught up field too much.

Bradley- 5: Decent, but really not good enough. A few reckless tackles that could have drawn cards and a few bad giveaways. Needs to be more composed. Did well on the near-post header. I still have faith. He's young and will keep learning.

Johnson- 4: Looked very tentative. Why did he lay off those two balls? Eddie, your role is not to pass to Ralston in the box when you are open and he is marked. You must shoot and must score. I had high hopes given his MLS form, but Eddie did not deliver. Did do well to kill some clock late though.

Gooch- 2: Both yellows were deserved. On the first one, he got caught trying to kick Ruiz as retaliation. That's definitely a yellow cardable offense. What an idiot. How can you let Ruiz (of all people) get in your head? You know what he's going to do. Grow up. Even more importantly, still very susceptible to being beaten by the through ball. We saw it against Ecuador, at Newcastle and now against Guatemala. Almost cost us a goal for being slow to respond, but luckily he recovered in time to block the shot. Still a horrible performance. I'm done with Gooch for a while and glad he's not eligible for the next tilt.

[jokeefe80]

Howard - 7 - No complaints, not enough chances to warrent a higher grade.
Bornstein - 5 - Sure he is fast, but internationally he will get burned if he is constantly letting his opponent get level with him.
Bocanegra - 6 - Up and down game, but didn't really let Ruiz behind him.
Onyweu - 0 - Stupid!
Hjeduk - 7 - I don't even like Hjeduk, but he did what he had to do, and didn't get beat.
Beasley - 5 - The book has been published on Beasley. Teams play physical on him and he disappears
Donovan - 5 - See Beasley...He did create a few chances, but when the play got physical he turtled. Some of his passes were shocking. I won't write him off in this position because i think it fits him much better, and he has the tools to thrive out on the right.
Feilhaber - 5 - I thought he played really well at times, and really poorly at times. He showed his age.
Bradley - 8 - While Benny showed his age, Bradley looked like a veteran. He did make a couple mistakes that young players make, but they were in the attacking third, and didn't hurt us too much. It seemed as though every time Donovan or Benny gave the ball away, Bradley was there. He also made some quality passes that show his true quality.
Dempsey - 8 - It's too bad he got dinged up, because he was the biggest reason the US held possession when he was out there. His runs and passes were spot on. He still needs to work on his touch, as some balls are not setup for proper foward attack. He was also the only player that took on the defense over and over again.
Twellman - 8 - Would have been a 10 if he had scored. I don't understand why people complain about his performance, or why he was taken out. The Guatemala defense looked lost trying to cover him. He was consistently spreading their defense thin and causing them to make a lot of mistakes in the back. He is far from flashy, but does what he needs to do to keep pressure on the defense.

EJ - ZERO - I love EJ, but last night was another indication that maybe he is not fit for international duty. With his speed he should be running at defenders, not timidly one touching a pass back to the midfield. TAKE ON A DEFENDER EJ!!!!
Demerit - 7 - I didn't see him make a mistake so I'll give him a 7 just for calming things down in the back
Ralston - 6 - Average performance. Nothing special, nothing bad.


Coach Bradley - 7 - I liked how he shook things up and moved Donovan out to the right. I think Donovan can flourish there once he gets comfortable. I liked the move to bring Demerit in, and was happy to see he was willing to switch things up once Gooch got booted. I didn't like how Twellman was taken out. I'm sure he believed that EJ's current form would produce a better performance, but it didn't and it almost cost us the game as we could not maintain pressure in the attacking third. I really enjoy his willingness to change things up here in his first real test as manager.

[lmorin]

Howard - 6 - average game
Hejduk - 5.5 - average game with one or two poor plays.
Boca - 5.5 - average game that was hard to judge because of how often he had to clean up Bornstein's messes. Also, does he trust Gooch?
Gooch - 6 (first half) 3 (second half) - Just crazy, stupid errors and now has a solid history of them. Inability to adjust his game is a real problem.
Bornstein - 4 - Atrocious. Was beaten numerous times because of bad positioning; made poor tackles; greatly interfered with Beasley's game; passing was off.
Donovan - 6 - Average game
Bradley - 6 - Average game. Good positioning and tackling.
Feilhaber - 5.5 - Pretty good. Passing could be better
Beasley - 6 - Solid average game.
Dempsey - 6.5 - Typical Dempsey. Great to see him with such freedom to move. Ought to result in more goals.
Twellman - 6 - Average game. Great work rate and play away from the goal, nice assist balanced by that missed gimmee header.

Subs:
EJ - 4 - Where is his effort, desire or motivation? I'd rather have Frankie up front when the US is a man down. Somebody needs to pressure the opposing backs. EJ does not seem interested in making anything happen.
Ralston - 6 - Average
Demerit - 6 - Perhaps deserves a higher rating, but too little time for judging. Defense seemed to settle with him in.