they'll listen.
25 - The Yanks finally break through, going up one-nil thanks to some fine work from Taylor Twellman and a tap-in by Dempsey.
30 - Someone asked me matter-of-factly before the game if Michael Bradley should really be on the field today. Thirty minutes in and the best U.S. player on the field, by far, is Michael Bradley. He snuffs out attacks, can start the transition game, and doesn't dive in when young players usually do. Interesting.
35 - The U.S. can't keep the ball, therefore not allowing their class to put the Guatemalans in their place. Basically, the Americans are keeping this team around for no good reason. Well, there is a good reason - this is a very young American team. They lack a field general out there, that much is clear.
Halftime - The Yanks finish the half with an absolute onslaught, but can't find the second goal. I always end up picking on one player, and today it is Run DMB, who just keeps turning the ball over, it seems.
A game like this also makes me think about just how good Brian McBride is. Forget the goal scoring, just the way you can play through him and he can anchor the attack as a target player, most of the time with his head. The lads miss that tonight.
50 - Pablo Melgar loops a 35-yard, slow motion volley in the air towards the U.S. goal and a dozing Tim Howard - no I mean, literally, he was napping out of boredom - wakes up in enough time to calmly backpedal and easily tip it over the bar. The crowd goes nuts. Howard yawns.
52 - Place is totally packed now after a lot of empty seats were visible early on. Gotta love Planet LA traffic - the poor people probably left like three hours ago. Don't ever move here. We don't want you, too many cars already.
54 - So here's what I'm thinking about this Guatemalan goalkeeping situation: take the "Sueno MLS" reality show format down there. Seriously, I promise you the winner will be as good as Ricardo Trigueno. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, just happens to be in the wrong profession. The way the guy likes to wave his hands in the air at flying objects, he ought to be one of those guys waving planes in on runways.
58 - At 1-0 with Guatemala actually possessing the ball for longer than 13 seconds, it dawns on me that the Yanks are a fluke away from letting these guys out of jail.
58 - Bob Bradley apparently also realizes the Yanks are a fluke away from letting these guys out of jail, as here comes Eddie Johnson to the fourth official.
61 - With the Guatemalans having a bit of joy on the ball, the U.S. launches a quick counter and neat one-two between Landon and Twellman is broken up by a goal-saving slide tackle from captain Gustavo Cabrera. After the play, Donovan gives him a pat on the back that half says "great play" and half says "if you had done that for Salt Lake you'd still be here."
68 - Eddie Johnson blows by a defender ... and then falls down trying to cross the ball. That kind of night for the USA: two steps forward, two steps back.
69 - The Guatemalans see Frankie HEY!DUCK! injured on the ground, look at him, and continue their attack. Watch and learn at home, kids.
71 - Ralston for Twellman, so Landon will move into the middle of the park. Finally. Let's end that experiment after one game.
73 - Gooch shows his naïve side and how susceptible this young team is to instigation with a silly bump of an onrushing player and rightfully earns his second yellow card, to the delight of the packed house. Bob Bradley looks slightly less pleased.
78 - The 10-man Yanks finally settle down and start to play like a team up a goal late in the game.
84 - Fishy basically socks substitute defender Jay Demerit after the England-based defender takes his lunch moments after entering the game. I honestly can't say I blame Ruiz, he's gotta be totally fed up right now with his teammates, or lack thereof.
87 - EJ hits one into the 12th row. Guess what the crowd thought about that one?
88 - The U.S. strings together about 30 passes in a row. The crowd goes quiet. It's like the Yanks went from rookies to veterans in 15 minutes. Finally.
Final Whistle - Three points in the books will please the new gaffer, but unless he is a devout Machiavellian, he can't be too thrilled overall. At least he can be a proud papa, because his kid looks like a player at that defensive midfielder position.
The USA's class should see them pretty far in this tournament, but they will have to gel much better as a team, play smarter, and not let the silly cheap shots get under their skin if they want to beat Mexico.
The other interesting thing about this young side will be who steps up as the on-field leader. All eyes are on Landon Donovan, and I'd rather see him in the middle of the park making this team his.
But overall, Bob Bradley just keeps winning, and you can't argue with those results.
During the season, The Clean Sheet runs each week on MLSnet. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com
