Not the best way to start a World Cup year, but we can recover.  The night started off poorly when Jimmy Conrad was sent off for second yellow card in the 17th minute.  Losing a key defender so early was tough for the US.  It took almost until the half to regroup.  Honduras was already up 2-0 by then.

In the second half Coach Bradley inserted Clarence Goodson and pulled the ineffective Jeff Cunningham.  The team looked more secure in the back but still let one more in off some nifty passing from the Honduras side.  Goodson pulled one back for the US off a corner kick. The US centerback crushed the goalkeeper to get to the ball for the US’s lone tally.

Plenty of players got playing time in this match and most got a big reality check. Here are my thoughts on the game:

The Good:

1. Newcomers played with confidence: I thought both Dax and Bedoya looked confident and energetic when they came in.  They didn’t do everything right but they looked willing to take chances and step up to the level of play.  That is a good sign.
2. Robbie Rogers blast: around the 50th minute Rogers hit a beautiful 30 yard shot from the left side that had the goalkeeper beat but ricochet off the post.
3. Marvel Wynne’s speed: the guy is fast, like silly out of this world fast. When he fit full stride to chase down attackers the looked like he was on another level.  He also got up the line well using his speed to make space for crosses.
4. Bornstein stepping up: When Conrad got red carded Bornstein stepped up and did his best to keep things tidy.
5. Goodson crushing the goalkeeper: Goodson’s goal at least let Coach Bradley know that he wants it.  He absolutely plowed through the Honduran goalkeeper to get the ball and played with the same tenacity all night.  He was picking fights all over the field.  I like it!!!

The Bad:

1. The veterans: Maybe veterans isn’t the right word, but the more experienced players didn’t play well.  Feilhaber, Pearce, and Conrad are the only players to have 20+ caps and none of them showed up today.  Conrad’s early red card was a disaster (and questionable). Feilhaber was invisible and Pearce didn’t get one right all night.  The only 20+ guy to have a good night was Bornstein.
2. Overall defending: Wynne’s speed is impressive but his defending needs to get better, too many missed pokes forcing him to chase down attackers.  Goodson and Marshall never took control of the middle.  Bornstein did what he could but its tough to defend when the unit is weak.  Beckerman didn’t give them much cover either.  There were plenty of times when the Honduras attack faced a flat line of 4 defenders with no defensive mid even close breaking up the play.
3. Cunningham: Maybe he doesn’t want to go to the World Cup.  He looked slow and disinterested.
4. Findley: Poor passes all over the place and no ability to beat defenders on the dribble.  He was more active  than Cunningham but looked out of his league.
5. The So Cal kids: Robbie Rogers and Sacha Kljestan didn’t look good.  You’d think playing in front of their friends and family would inspire them.  Kljestan was more of the same.  He looked like the same player that stopped getting called to the national team 6 months ago.  Rogers just isn’t good.  He comes up with some plays from time to time, but he looks so stiff and one dimensional that he doesn’t even look like a soccer player.  He needs to learn some new tricks, the good news is that he’ll still be a contender when 2014 rolls around.

Perkins wasn’t good or bad in my opinion.  He did well with the stuff he could handle, but he did get beat 3 times.  Same with Conor Casey.  He was more active and looked more comfortable with the ball than either Findley or Cunningham.  But he was just as ineffective.  I wouldn’t quite put him the good category but he wasn’t bad in comparison. Beckerman made good decisions with the ball even if he wasn’t breaking up plays adequately.

So there are my thoughts on the match.  I hate watching the US lose but I think this let some players know where they need to be if they ever want to go to a World Cup.

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