A Second Look at the U.S. Win
By JEFFREY MARCUS

The bright spots outnumbered the United States team’s missteps Saturday, but they did not outshine the problems.

A 3-1 victory over a visibly drained Australia team provided both an emotional boost to the players and allowed Coach Bob Bradley to see who was ready to start against England on June 12 in Rustenberg.

“You need the match, you need the adjustment to the altitude, the adjustment to the conditions, the fitness,” Coach Bob Bradley said. “But you want to make sure you’re careful about how you make decisions.”

Bradley decided wisely to hold Jozy Altidore out of the game after he sprained his ankle in practice on Wednesday in a play with Steve Cherundolo. The coach decided to start Edson Buddle, who scored twice against Australia. That seems like a good choice.

Buddle’s strike partner Saturday was the speedy Robbie Findley. He was threatening, but failed to finish on a handful of occasions.

Findley’s final touch failed him, whether it was a break-away shot embarrassingly wide in the 14th minute, an anemic attempt on goal after an impressive buildup in the 52nd minute or a final pass that was played just out of reach of Clint Dempsey running on goal.

“We had some advantages that could have been handled better” was all Bradley would say about it after the game. After all, his team scored three goals and looked threatening in counterattack, which is exactly how he coached them to play.

The concerns are in regard to the defense. Oguchi Onyewu still hasn’t played a full 90 minutes since last October. He came on in the 62nd minute to replace Clarence Goodson. If this was a competitive match, that would have been a suspect decision. Goodson, who has started the Americans’ last three friendlies, was good with the ball at his feet and a reliable partner for Jay Demerit. Onyewu, in limited time, appeared balky. The new ball’s movement in the air fooled him and Demerit on numerous occasions.

Seven of eight Australia corner kicks landed in the box, at Aussie players’ feet, without the United States able to clear the ball. One of them was put in for a goal. England will not be as profligate as the Socceroos were.

“We’re under no illusions about the test ahead of us,” Demerit said. “We have a defense that can play very well together at times when we can keep our team’s shape.”

What do you think the United States team must do to get a result against England?


http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/a-second-look-at-the-u-s-win/?ref=soccer