On a night when the US national team waved a fond goodbye to star man Landon Donovan, the performance fell just short of what was needed to secure victory in a 1-1 friendly draw with Ecuador in Hartford.
The No. 10 shirt, for so long the team's driving force, went close to burying a celebration goal on three occasions. Starting in a 4-4-2 set that repeatedly offered the visitors chances to get back in the game, the Nats roared plenty without ever controlling the game and it helped cost them the "W" in the end.
Brad Guzan (6) - Aside from a hairy incident on the ball near halftime, Guzan was in fine form during the opening frame, highlighted by three good saves inside a two-minute span. However, the netminder was badly fooled by the nasty swerve on Enner Valencia's late equalizer.
Timothy Chandler (6.5) - It was a decent shift for the right back, who bothered Ecuador in a variety of ways. As examples, Chandler coolly executed a line hold to catch a runner offside, put one terrific cross into the box and embarked on a dazzling run out of his own end that deserved a better ending. But a few errors in judgment handed Ecuador some unnecessary openings.
Michael Orozco Fiscal (6.5) - The smooth criminal of the USMNT center back stable enjoyed his 62 minutes of work. The Puebla defender moved the ball safely and rang up four pass picks, all coming in the area just out front of his team's 18-yard box.
John Anthony Brooks (5) - The Hertha Berlin youngster also exited just past the hour, but his night was much shakier. Brooks flat missed a runner going by while wandering off the line early and he did not account for a single defensive play until the 57th minute. The kid did spray a few nice long balls around, though.
Gregory Garza (6.5) - The young left back was quietly impressive on the night. Garza led the team with seven pass interceptions and faced up pretty well against all who ran into his corner. His quick restart also started the US goal play.
Mikkel Diskerud (7) - Though he had a couple of tired errors near the end and this space believes he was asked to do too much grunt work in his central midfield tandem role, Mix gave it a solid go along with his well-taken goal. For much of the opening hour, he was asking intriguing questions of the Ecuador back line.
Alejandro Bedoya (6) - It was not Bedoya's best night by any stretch of the imagination, but he delivered his customary yeoman's effort. There was one bad turnover in the US end, but the Nantes attacker completed 33 of 37 passes and stood up a handful of Ecuador rushes.
DeAndre Yedlin (7) - The Seattle-and-eventually-Spurs hotshot notched one assist and could have easily had more with better finishing. In his first international start, Yedlin put seven balls into the opposing area. Forget his running abilities for a moment; let's talk about his situation recognition skills and the softness of his passes into the scoring zones. This one looks special, folks.
Joseph Gyau (6.5) - His night was rudely cut short by injury after just 22 minutes, but do remember it was Gyau's tightrope wing pace to Donovan that sent the Nats into attack position on the opener.
Landon Donovan (6.5) - The farewell kid caused plenty of trouble in his 41 minutes, including a strike off the post. There was also a clever header pawed away and a rip just wide, leaving Donovan without a goodbye moment of glory.
Jozy Altidore (6.5) - There were a couple of rough early touches, but then the striker settled in to display once again that he can have an impact without actually scoring. Among several dishes, Altidore's ace hold-up backheel put Donovan in to hit the woodwork – and later, he even artfully picked out the retiree for one last crack at goal.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (4.5) – His tactical setup had obvious flaws in both directions. Defensively, the middle of the park was too easy for Ecuador to slice and there was little left in front of the back line to prevent the visitors from unleashing 10 shots from above the US box (and another few from just inside the line).
On the ball, the US created dangerous looks, but never really took control of the proceedings despite enjoying 57% of possession. Bringing the highly green selection into account, it must be said that the bench lacked its usual sizzle this time.
Subs:
Bobby Wood (5) - The 1860 Munich attacker sure pressures well and finds ways to get loose. The problem came when he had to make a decision, which routinely came late or not at all. The game-winning assist was on his flipper near time, but Wood's dawdle allowed the iron to cool.
Joe Corona (5) - In one of his rougher US outings, the midfielder went into the books for one miserable back pass, one bad turnover in his end and a yellow card. Corona had a couple of bright moments, but they were fleeting.
Omar Gonzalez (6.5) - The center back pool's best help defender showed his stuff almost right away, covering when his partner was beaten for pace. Gonzo also managed four clearances in less than a half-hour.
Tim Ream (5.5) - The Bolton ace had a shaky start, but ended the game strong. Ream executed a Marvel Comics shot block that was cruelly wasted soon after by the Valencia strike.
Alfredo Morales (6) - Among the standouts for early 2.Bundesliga leaders Ingolstadt, Morales definitely came to stick his nose in every play he could. An interception here, a tackle there and a pair of nice passes in attack as a pretty bow. One complaint: more boring gate-minding.
Chris Wondolowski (-) - Wondo had one nice link touch, but was barely involved in his 14 minutes.
