Spot on.I would add Olson & Armas to your list of player who are past it. MOTM is definetely Quaranta he did it for 90 min.
Ya know, I sort of agree, Beasley was awful for almost the whole match. OTOH, he did have two assists and a goal, so this may not be the best time to call out Bruce on this decision.
That was the most moronic formation based on the players selected I think I have ever seen. It makes the braintrust of Chivas USA look like geniouses.
I think I enjoyed the Cuban guy in the wall pounding the ground like a little kid after the ball went in the back of the net more than anything else on that clip.
I made that decision on the fact that he sucked the least out of all the field players. He ran at people and he passed very well and got back defensively too. Dempsey had a really slow start, as did Beas. I just thought Quaranta, over the course of the whole 90 minutes looked the most comfortable.
The only thing that saves a disgusting performence from Quaranta was that he takes corners very well. Other than that he was complete and utter crap. Conor Casey is officially done, he should just stick to being a goon and run over keepers. Stay in Europe and don't expect another call up. There was absolutly no attitude on the pitch at all till Landon came on and that was a wicked bend on the match winner. I don't care if it was a B+, B, B-, or C team this is Cuba. They practice turning two in the infield. Shagging fly balls in the outfield. I remember the 5-0 thrashing that the boys gave them in Foxboro, or the McBride penalty shutout in the Rose Bowl. The only way this scoreline is proven and Cuba does get a goal is when it should have been a consolation prize not "Oh my goodness I can't believe we are down a goal against them.". Dempsey's goal was a gift. He was offsides and the linesman decided to keep his flag down. Lucky to get out of the half with the scoreline leveled. Bruce maybe stubborn, but I'm going to say something and most of you won't like it. If Clint Mathis is on the field his attitude will make the rest of the side work alot harder. If Landon Donovan was also on the field at the start of the match he will also make the rest of the side work alot harder. No attitude means no heart and I saw none in the first half.
Dempsey is just one of those types of players where stuff just happens around him....most of it good, not all just yet I say we need to keep giving him the PT. Landon made the team better as soon as he stepped on to the pitch. He especially made DMB's game better. It was just nice to see JOB wearing the uni. Casey isn't showing anything to me. We've got too many good front liners to continue giving him time. Bottomline, a nice ending to an otherwise forgettable game. Put it behind us and lets move on. KH14
Sanneh was horrible tonight. I sure hope Bruce saw all he needed to see. Landon made a great statement for being our captain in 06. I thought Keller might have saved that first shot but I could be a bit hopeful there, not that there is a question as to who our first team keeper is. Dempsey played a good game. His goal at the end of the first half was a very professional finish. With more time he will make fewer mistakes. I sure hope that the Bruce has paid enough respect to his VA boy Olsen after this game. He has no place on the national team. Davis had some good set plays tonight. I want to see some more of him before I make any judgements. Casey has all but bought the couch he'll be watching the world cup on. He just can't seem to get it done up front. On a more serious note, why wasn't Noonan on the roster tonight? I know he said he had a small injury during training earlier but that was all I heard. I sure hope he is available for the next game. I was really expecting him to shine in this Gold Cup. Overall, our B team tonight was a group of individuals. I think by the time we play Canada we will gell more. Great come back at the end though. Showed alot of American grit!
Hejduk was way overplayed and allowed the cross for the Cuban goal. Please remember he was a defender in this game and he played poorly the few times he had to defend.
That straight legged kick would have made Hulk Hogan proud. I was half expecting the leg drop finishing move and the pin to finish off Olsen.
Wolff was fine. One 2 corners, and threatened on a corner where the Cuan goalie had to strech andnearly pnched into his own goal. Solid work
Hayduke - do you go to the Tom Flannigan school of arguing. You know, the one that says "If I repeat something often enough, I'll be right"? It was among the more blatant red cards I have seen
Who would have traded Marshall, Burciaga and Gaven for Conrad, Sanneh and Olsen? Buddle (just to see what he has) in place of Casey? Any D-mid prospect for Armas? Is ther some secret value to having Ralston-line negative veterans screw up in lieu of potentially Ralston-line-positive youngsters? I'll eat some crow and say that Quaranta showed why he's there, altough I still think it was somewhat flash over substance. He does have the skills. I still think a player should have a longer run of success than he has had before getting into the team. I wish Casey could find the net. He brings a physical presence that none of our other strikers do. He forces a lot of bad balls from the opposing backline. JOB didn't do a lot, but his speed of thought from first touch, piece of vision and then creative ball is abssolutely first class. But why he got sent out onto that yuk field, I don't know.
And to whoever said Dempsey was offside - I thought he was too, until they showed the replay in very slow motion on Telefutura. He was onside when the ball was passed. He timed his run perfectly.
It is awfully strange how people play better in their natural positions. I wonder if Bruce found that odd.
Match Ratings: Hahnemann: 5. Didn't have much to do and really should have made the save on the goal. Not much else to go on here. Hejduk: 5. It's a testament to a few other performances that I'm going to give Frankie a pass tonight. He played exactly like Frankie Hejduk. Conrad: 5. Not real good in his big chance. Had some co-ordination problems and also seemed to be overwhelmed physically a few times. Otherwise did ok. I guess the best US defender. Sanneh: 2. Sometimes when Big Soccer rushes to condemn the performance of a player, they can get a little out of control and be unfair in their criticisms. This is not one of those times. I appreciate all of the work Tony has done for us these many years and in particular his play in 2002 was stellar. But stick a fork in him. He's been uneven at best for the Fire and he was a complete misery tonight. His mark was the goal scorer. Olsen: 4. Works hard. Always hustles. Never gives up and got back up after the kick to the crotch. He's also not good enough for this National Team without his wheels. Had trouble controlling passes, didn't move all that well into attacking space and created virtually nothing with his passes. Armas: 6. That was better than I thought we'd get from Chris. Covered a whole bunch of ground and generally did a good job of quickly getting the ball away from himself and onto the feet of people who can actually do something with it. Davis: 6. Very quiet 1st half, better 2nd half before being subbed. A great left footed cross that Dempsey should have buried was a step late getting to. Quaranta: 6. Had a few good moments and tracked back well on defense, but also had a few wobbles. Tripped when he was alone in the box with a chance to score, and missed the low cross at the back post (wound up in the net) on a play similar to the one Dempsey missed. Beasley: 6. Set up Dempsey for the equalizer and generally was more dangerous than anyone else besides Clint until Donovan made his appearance. Is simply better out wide where he can get into space and cause chaos for the defense. Casey: 3. That's about the most generous 3 in the history of man, but I'm a little tough on Conor sometimes so I'm compensating. I just don't understand. Arena and Clive Charles and several learned folks in Germany like this guy and I can't figure out what the hell he has other than size. He's got a cement touch, no vertical leap and has the agility of your average garbage truck. Dempsey: 6. What's amazing is just how good this kid can be when he doesn't play all that well and is still clearly when of the best players on the field. Really had only one bad miss, the sitter at the back post. The other was a difficult shot and didn't count anyway, and the other backpost run wasn't him despite the cameraman's insistance after the play that it was (it was Quaranta a confusion the announcers had for the first half too. The nifty run along the left flank early was Dempsey, but the announcer said it was quaranta.) Has got to finish that chance at the back post. Has just gotta. That's a full two point swing on his rating (+1 if he buries it, -1 since he didn't). Subs: Donovan: 8. Hee, hee... O'Brien: n/a. Johnny needs some reserve matches. No way to expect much and he didn't provide much. Looked very mechanical which is a given considering his time off. Wolff: 6. I'm really not sold on Wolff as a national teamer, but he sure did look more like he knew what he was doing out there. Compared to some of the other guys, that means something.