Pseudo-Live Blog: USA 2-4 Czech Republic

THE LINEUP (4-4-2)

Guzan
Bornstein
Oneyewu
Goodson
Cherundolo
Beasley
Edu
Torres
Holden
Johnson
Buddle

Aaaaaand, we’re off, with the Yanks moving right-to-left on your liveblog!

1m – Bornstein puts the first ball into the box, easily claimed by Cech. Hey, I’ve heard of at least one guy on the Czech team!

3m – Czech player down, and the ref having a chat with the US defender. Didn’t seem a lot in it. Will the game be called tight?

5m – Czechs try to head the ball back to Cech (I promise not to beat that pun to death) and Buddle shows some explosiveness to at least make the keeper sweat. Looks like a guy trying to make an argument for a plane ticket.

9m – First closeup of Bob Bradley looking concerned. Of course, that could also be a shot of him deciding what to have at the Holiday Inn Express’ free breakfast bar, too.

11m – Neither team have really put anything that would resemble actual pressure on the opposing keeper. A lot of trading places in the middle part of the field, but nothing consistent or coherent.

13m – Geh. Another misplayed US pass dissolving possession before they cross midfield, followed by a feeble Czech foray leading to a US goal kick. And another shot of Brad Guzan. Does Bradley like bald keepers, is it a style thing, or is the job so stressful that it’s just a work hazard?

16m – I can see why Oneyewu is referred to as the “big man.”

17m – GOAL! USA 1-0 CZE. Holden puts a free kick into the box, Cech makes an absolute mess of it, and Edu leanes his way through a mass of confused Czech defender to get the opener. Much more a goal against Cech than a goal for the Yanks, but no points for style.

19m – The Czechs quickly get the ball down the near side and win a free kick after a tough foul. Edu heads the resultant cross into orbit and the US clear, avoiding the need to use the “most dangerous time is after a goal” cliché.

21m – Another Czech corner, headed skyward and away to relative safety. The US seems to have settled back and allowed the Czechs to take the game to them after the goal. The attack sputters out after a Czech attacker makes a leap into

23m – Buddle is still off the field, apparently with a split lip after a collision with Cech during the goal. That would probably explain the US defensiveness. Buddle is back on the field with a new, blood-free jersey.

26m – The US dodge a huge bullet as the Czech attack comes down the near side, threads a pass to the Czech striker in the middle of the 18-yard box, who then promptly curls the ball wide of the far post. Very little the US defense had to do with that goal not being scored.

28m – An attempted give-and-go from Holden goes awry, and the Czechs get the ball back.

29m – Beasley sweetly gets control of a high bouncer, blows by his defender, and gets promptly brought down for a free kick. So much for the game being called tight – there’s been at least three fouls that could have brought a card, but the ref has showed nothing.

30m – Bornstein gets de-pantsed by the Czech attacker on the near side (seeing a pattern), and Guzan makes a great dive to palm the ball out for a corner. Buddle eventually completes the clearance. The first half hour has made a pretty good case for Buddle to make the final 23.

32m – Another shot of Oneyewu and, more importantly, Oneyewu’s incredible beard. It’s not a Baron Davis with the Warriors beard, but it’s pretty close.

34m – And there’s the first card, to Rajnoch for the Czechs. He’s been stuck in to a lot of the people rolling around on the ground, so it’s not surprising that he sees yellow. Torres puts in a free kick from about 30 yards out that’s pretty simply cleared.

36m – The Czechs definitely seem to think the place to attack the US is on the flanks with a cross into the box. I don’t recall much of anything coming up the middle at all.

37m – Another Czech cross, another strong Goodson header to clear.

40m – The US are finally on the attach, with Holden hitting a corner that gets gobbled up by Cech.

41m – Buddle tries to get the ball to Johnson on the break a hair late, and gets bailed out by a foul.

43m – And we have a victory for the fairer sex, as both “Dancing With The Stars” and “Glee” start at 8:00 p.m., blocking any further viewing of the game except in the back room. And, of course, during the transition from rooms, the Czechs score with Oneyewu getting outjumped for a header that beats Guzan. Apparently the blame for that one has to go to either me, Oneyewu, or Bruno Tonioli. USA 1-1 CZE.

HALFTIME! A 1-1 draw seems just about right at this point.

Aaaaaand, we’re back. The US moving from left-to-right on your pseudo-live blog. Herculez Gomez and Brian Ching on for Buddle and Johnson, and Sasha Klejstan on for Torres.

50m – For being a friendly, this game is awfully physical. That’s good news, I think. Getting a little bit of a bloody nose can’t do anything but help in World Cup preparation.

53m – The US gets their second corner of the night, which had some promise but ultimately came for naught.

55m – The game has increased in physicality and speed. Both of these developments seem to favor the US. The Czechs look like they’re only a danger on a break or a counterattack.

56m – I should know better. As soon as I talk about how the Czechs don’t look a danger, they spread the US defense out and head one into the back of the net. The goal was called back (and rightfully so) for offside, but the US was certainly in danger.

58m – GOAL! USA 1-2 CZE. The Czechs punch a cross into the net, and there’s no offside flag to help the Yanks this time. Pearce got himself skinned for a pretty easy score. Yikes.

61m – Rogers launches a rocket from outside the box that sends Cech to a full stretch for a save. Nice to see. It would have been nicer had it not been the first US shot since their goal.

64m – Nice run of play leads to a blocked shot, and then a nice ground shot from Gomez saved well by Cech. It was all started by Ching holding the ball up in the near wing. Ching definitely looks a class above most of the US forward players.

66m – GOAL! USA 2-2 CZE. Gomez heads home a corner, redirected from Goodson. That goal was as much about Goodson keeping the ball in play as it was about Gomez putting it home. The team and the crown look a lot more relieved now that the score is equaled.

67m – And that’s the end of the night for Oneyewu, and for Oneyewu’s beard. Bedoya on in replacement.

70m – Rogers blazes into the box, gets denied by a dangerous but effective challenge, and Holden puts a recovered opportunity from just outside the box just wide of the near post. The Yanks look like a completely different team after the equalizer.

72m – I like the idea of the sash on the new unis, but unless getting a closeup of the player all you can see is the swoosh, the crest, and the player’s number orbiting around a big empty space in the middle of the shirt. Kinda looks like the US had a shirt sponsor that went bankrupt.

73m – Another US corner this one a high offering from Holden claimed by Cech with little trouble.

76m – Gomez leads a two-on-two break, but looked like he ran out of ideas. He decides to take a shot from outside the box rather than feed a streaking Ching on his side. Goes for a US corner that screams harmlessly through.

78m – GOAL! USA 2-3 CZE. Not one, but two failed clearances, including a whiff on a sliding tackle from Pearce, leads to a well-finished Czech goal from 10 yards out. Ye Gods, the US have had some serious hiccups defensively. Pearce’s whiff on the slide was the first domino that started the whole process.

80m – Ching called for a foul for, I think, waving unpleasantly at the Czech defender near the US far flag. For a game as physical as this has been, that’s a pretty ticky-tack foul.

81m – The Czechs get three bites at the US apple, but this time the defense holds firm and prevents Guzan from needing to do anything. But the US looks tight yet again. Not having the regulars on the field to give the team confidence is really showing.

83m – I know I’m not the only person who thinks Holden looks like Draco Malfoy from the “Harry Potter” movies.

87m – Holden fouled in the US half, letting the Yanks set up a free kick and perhaps a set piece to equalize. Or not, as the attempt goes right to the feet of three Czech defenders just inside the box.

89m – The US have a chance to put an attack together, but look tentative and ultimately never get the ball into the box.

90m – Holden tries to draw another foul, but the call goes against him this time. Three minutes of stoppage time.

91m – We see a long shot of Donovan, Dempsey, Howard, and the rest of the starters coming down pitchside. Apparently that’s way more interesting than what’s happening on the pitch.

92m – GOAL! USA 2-4 CZE. Edu gets too far upfield, misplays a ball in the air, and lets the Czech striker go by him and beat Guzan on a one-on-one attack. That was not at all attractive.

Aaaaaaaand, that’s the final whistle. The US gets doubled up by the Czech Republic demonstrating flashes of brilliance interspersed with some embarrassingly bad defending. Sure, it’s the B team, but it’s more than a little disturbing that the US really did not handle adversity well, and fell apart defensively in the second half.

So who helped themselves? I think Stuart Holden was man of the match, and may have played himself into a starting role if either Donovan or Dempsey gets started up front with Altidore. Ching also showed in the second half that he’s a class above the guys who got a runout.

But how about the new guys? Buddle started with some energy and was flying around the park early, but Gomez certainly did more with his half (including the goal) than Buddle did. Bradley has to get down to 23 tomorrow, and my guess is that Gomez earned himself a plane ticket to South Africa with tonight’s performance.

Is Oneyewu back? Hard to say. He played 65 minutes, was physical, and looked like he was imposing his will on the game. He also looked pretty flat-footed and beaten on the first Czech goal. But, boy, did the US defense sputter after he left.

The US defense on the wings looked pretty atrocious, too. Bornstein, Cherundolo, and Pierce looked pretty helpless through most of the game. If there’s anything that is the biggest red flag, that’s it.

So, it’s the end of the first friendly leading up to the World Cup. It appears worldwide that the primary purpose of these friendlies is to give fans an opportunity to talk about how terrible their team is and how they’re never going to win a game in South Africa. The English fans were saying the same about their team after a 3-1 victory over Mexico.

We definitely learned that the US B team is nowhere near the class of the starters. I don’t think that’s a real revelation, but it’s a little painful to watch knowing how close the World Cup is to starting.

But I think what concerns me the most is how poorly the US responded to adversity in this game. Sure, it’s the back end of the roster and there’s nerves involved with guys knowing it’s their last chance to make the team. But I would think the one thing that would be constant throughout the team is a mentality. If that’s the case, then this World Cup campaign could end badly for the red, white, and blue.

We’ll know the final 23 tomorrow. On Saturday, against Turkey, we should see a lot more of the starters and get a much better idea of the team that will actually take the field against England on June 12. Tonight’s game probably gave Bradley the information he needed to make his final cuts. But it doesn’t make me any less nervous about the games when they start to count.

THE RATINGS

THE LINEUP (4-4-2)

Guzan - 6
Bornstein - 5
Oneyewu - 7
Goodson - 7
Cherundolo - 5
Beasley - 7
Edu - 6
Torres - 7
Holden - 8
Johnson - 6
Buddle – 6

SUBSTITUTES

Ching – 7
Gomez – 7
Pearce – 4
Kjlestan – 6
Rogers – 6
Bedoya – 6