It only felt like an age since the US men’s national team had won a game. The last win came against Panama in the semifinal of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. For Juergen Klinsmann, Saturday’s 1-0 win over Honduras must be a relief. It certainly lifted some doubts about the new direction of the national team. Even if the performance failed to convince, the win broke a bad spell of results.
Overall, the US defense bent, but didn’t break largely due to Tim Howard’s goalkeeping. American fans should have no doubt about what this team would look like without Howard performing heroics game after game. With a defense that allows far too many good scoring chances, a lesser goalkeeper would mean disaster. At least, the regular flow of chances for Honduras slowed after Michael Orozco Fiscal left the game at half-time in favor of Oguchi Onyewu.
Klinsmann deployed his team in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Kyle Beckerman in front of the back four. His legs go as fast as he can move them, but he just lacks the pace for international football. Too often Hondurans left him behind. Beckerman wasn’t the only one caught out though. Orozco Fiscal drew a yellow card for one of many shirt tugs that the flailing Americans used to compensate for a lack of team speed. The USA drew five yellow cards, but there could have been more. Honduras had three and only some dubious officiating kept that number low.
In the second half Onyewu came on and was soon joined by returning veterans DaMarcus Beasley, looking very sharp, and Michael Bradley. The additional experience helped the US see out the win. Among the field players, Clint Dempsey had the best night, scoring the lone goal after a deft twist and shoot in the penalty area and having another goal from a towering header called back after another questionable officiating decision.
Player ratings:
Tim Howard: The US would be lost without him. He made a string of terrific saves and showed good footwork on a slick field. 8
Steve Cherundolo: He is coolness personified. I wonder why he doesn’t take free kicks and corners more regularly. His delivery is excellent. 7
Carlos Bocanegra: The captain had some poor passes out of the back that put the US under pressure. This was not his best game. 5
Michael Orozco Fiscal: Why is he still in the team? He made poor passes, he was beaten consantly, and took a foolish yellow card. It’s time for Omar Gonzalez and George John to stake their claim. Subbed at half-time for obvious reasons. 3
Timmy Chandler: He linked nicely with Brek Shea in the first half. The move to left back shows real promise, more than any other attempts by the US to find a left back. 6
Kyle Beckerman: He lacks the pace and vision to be a long term solution at this position. He made little contribution. 4
Daniel Williams: The newest German-American made a decent first appearance and nearly scored on his debut with a curling shot that just went over the bar. Putting him on the same side as Cherundolo to start helped him settle. He will be very useful in the future. 6
Maurice Edu: It’s hard to characterize such a bland performance. He didn’t do much wrong, but he didn’t add much to the whole. 5
Brek Shea: The FC Dallas player has grown into his new role. He linked well with Chandler and got into dangerous positions. Unfortunately, his header in the first half went wide and he fell over the ball when Altidore set him up for a tap in. 6
Clint Dempsey: Man of the Match. If one of his many tricky flicks ever works just right, it’s going to be spectacular. Even so, he enjoyed playing in the #10 role with plenty of freedom. He remained perfectly calm when collecting the ball and swivelling to score the lone goal. Really good game. 8
Jozy Altidore: Ultimately, a center forward has to be judged on goals scored. Altidore didn’t do that in this game, but he did do quite a bit. He held the ball reasonably well and demonstrated the sharpness of a player finding his form at the club level. This bodes well for the future. 7
Oguchi Onyewu: The big man received a warm welcome from his teammates when he was introduced to start the second half and should have capped his return with a goal when the rebound from a Dempsey drive fell to him. He defended well and solidified a shaky back line. 7
DaMarcus Beasley: In his return from exile, Beasley looked sharp and physically stronger. He rode tackles well during some mazy dribbles and hustled to help in defense. Klinsmann would be foolish to exclude him now that he has found regular first team football in Mexico. 7
Michael Bradley: The son of the former coach looked out of sorts during his stint. He didn’t link particularly well with his teammates and failed to find the pace of the game after coming on. He will have to adjust to the new regime. The November games will be better for him. 4
Jonathan Spector: In his brief appearance, he looked like a midfielder playing out of position, which he is. At least he made no serious errors. No rating.
Juergen Klinsmann: He finally has his first win. How well he integrates the German contingent into the program may determine his ultimate success or failure. Daniel Williams did quite well. Timmy Chandler is settling nicely. Fabian Johnson is next when he recovers from injury. Jermaine Jones is finding playing time at Schalke. When Landon Donovan, Jose Torres, and Stuart Holden are fit, there will be some tough decisions to make. He needs to find a way to get goals from the center forward position and tighten up the defense so that Tim Howard has less work.