Wow, that was a game. Sure there were ugly giveaways as well as some boring moments. In the end though, Juan Agudelo put one past Khuna to give the USA a 1-0 win in Cape Town. The new Yanks put in a hard working defensive display against many of Bafana Bafana's regulars. They were rewarded in the end thanks to great combination play by USA debutants Mikkel Diskerud and Juan Agudelo. The finish was a great chip by Agudelo that knicked the cross bar and bounced in.
Bob Bradley's squad was mostly MLS players who were trying to reignite their careers. In the starting lineup there were 6 MLSers going up against a South African squad with 11 players from their World Cup roster. The first half had its hairy moments with an inexperieced backline with little to no chemistry. However, Tshabala and Pienaar were for the most part ineffective against the young backline. Lichaj and Ream held their own despite a few wild moments..
On the attacking side, Robbie Findley was the for the most part was largely ineffective and did nothing to argue that he's not a flop. Bob Bradley did the right thing to pull him off for the Canadian-American Teal Bunbury who provided a physical presence that for the most part was able to hold the ball up which is something Robbie Findley couldn't do. Robbie Rogers had a good run out for the most part, he had a couple scoring opportunities and was impressive for the most part. Alejandro Bedoya looked eccentric on the other wing, and showed the ability to track back which will impress the Gaffer.
The midfield was once again a largely defensive one. With Logan Pause and Brian Carroll they really broke up the South African attack for much of the night. Bob Bradley had a very good gameplan going into the match and Bob got the central midfield to play that disruptive play that was needed in order to get a result in Cape Town.
Player Ratings
Brad Guzan 8
Great performance from the American skipper, he really had a great presence in the penalty area and he did a great job of keeping the young backline organized. Brad Guzan will go back to Villa feeling he solidified his place as the next great American keeper.
Eric Lichaj 7
The Aston Villa Academy product has put in another good performance for the Yanks. His style of play really brought a spark to the US play to me he was among the best American players on the field. In the first half he did have some trouble with Tshabalala and Masilela but still held his own and really took those players out of the game.
Clarence Goodson 7
Goodson really was strong back in Central defense. His big physical presence was too much for the trashtalking Davide Somma. You have to wonder how you can't start Goodson for future USMNT matches.
Tim Ream 6.5
The highly anticipated debut for the Red Bulls ace was a promising start to what hopes to be a long international career. Ream's distribution was nothing short of brilliant, at times he had difficulty dealing with the diagonal runs, but you expect that.
Jonathan Bornstein 5.5
Nothing special from the senior member of the squad. He played 45 minutes and filled his role well, but in my opinion could've done better on the diagonal runs.
Alejandro Bedoya 6
He made defenders miss, he tracked back. This is what we like to see from young attacking midfielders. He provided a spark when he could and was impressive overall throughout the night.
Logan Pause 6.5
He had a few rash challenges to begin the game however he cleaned that up later on and provided a good shift. Really was a big part why Bafana Bafana couldn't get much going.
Brian Carroll 6.5
Like Pause, he didn't provide much going forward but he put in a good shift. A couple give aways but he was playing the garbage man tonight and he filled the role well.
Robbie Rogers 6.5
Robbie had the first real chance of the match when he fired a shot right at Khuna. I thought Robbie looked confident and he really did what he could with what he was given.
Eddie Gaven 7
The 7 is not for the facial hair. His work rate was satisfactory and his feed to Rogers was what ignited some good moments going forward for the USA in the first half.
Robbie Findley 4.5
Don't know how many bad adjectives I can use for his performance but let's just say it was bad. He couldn't hold the ball up, did nothing to challenge the defense, and was pulled off at halftime. To be fair he had no service but still no excuse.
Substitutes
Teal Bunbury 6
He had one chance on a great turn after a great feed from Lichaj. He was a good physical presence up top for the Yanks. I don't think he's ready for the international game yet, judging from this performance.
Jonathan Spector 6
His distribution was suspect, however defensively he showed his veteran instincts. Decent performance from the West Ham reject.
Juan Agudelo 8 (Man of the Match)
His rating shot up 2 points because of the goal. The 17 year old New York Red Bulls phenom had confidence on the ball and his goal was an absolute sublime finish. Near the end he showed great instincts with wasting time near the corner flag.
Nat Borchers 6.5
Mostly a cameo appearance but he did head out a lot of the South African set pieces. He played well enough to earn a grade.
Mikkel Diskerud 7
Was going to receive a N/A grade until his great feed to assist Agudelo's game winner. Diskerud showed great creativity and he was just as involved as Agudelo when it came to the goal.
Gale Agbossoumonde N/A
A cameo performance for the young central defender.
Coaching Rating 8.5
Bob Bradley aka Bob the Builder got his boys ready to play and deserves a lot of credit for being able to help this young squad do great things in an environment most of them had never seen before. I have been a critic of Bradley but he deserves nothing but applause from everyone for tonight's performance. Bradley's game plan shut down the Bafana Bafana attack and he will be pleased about his squad's performance.
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