In the first half, the US attack lacked accuracy and speed. They didn't put pressure on the defense and that allowed Venezuela to create something on offense. Second half was completely different. The one thing I was thinking all the way through the first half was "Come on Bruce, bring Stewart and Donovan into the game". In the second half, he did and you could see difference. We were too quick, too skillful for the Venezuelan defenders. We pushed Venezuela into their own half, constantly pressured them and did not allow them to do much on offense. Neither Kirovski nor McBride were very impressive up front IMO. Kirovski had the goal, but that one was pretty easy to put away. He also had a good scoring chance on which he could have done better. McBride's touches on the ball were a little bit off. He wasted a great opportunity when he was set up by Beasley. O'Brien was rarely in the spotlight in this game, he kind of dropped back in more of a defensive role next to Mastroeni.
Players that impressed me:
- Carlos Bocanegra: continues to make his case for a starting spot in World Cup 2006. Intercepted many passes and was also involved in the attack, he got a few headers, one of which hit the post.
- DaMarcus Beasley: anyone who has any critisism of DMB, I hope they were watching this game; every time Beasley touched the ball he created a little bit of magic. He had so many penetrating runs through the defense, so many crosses that found a US striker in an excellent position... he was the most impressive US player today
- Earnie Stewart: 34? You're kidding, right? Earnie was outstanding today - he's truly a class player. Look at the crosses he put in, especially from set pieces. Not to mention the speed with which he ran through the defense. And he almost had an incredible goal right at the end.
- Landon Donovan: he only played, what, 30 minutes? But he did more on offense in those 30 minutes than the entire US team did in the first 45. Had an excellent run through the Venezulea defense, and a great finnish to score the second goal for the US. Would have had another one if the Venezuela keeper hadn't handled the ball outside the penalty box.
. Earnie Stewart coming on for Klein was a great move. Glad to see him end his career over in the states. Oh well 2-0 should have been at least 5-0, (Donovan had a goal robbed from him by a hand ball from Angelucci).
