Suspended U.S. coach Bruce Arena was forced to take a birdÆs eye view of his teamÆs qualifier against Costa Rica
How frustrating is this result?
BRUCE ARENA: IÆm disappointed, but IÆm not frustrated. I think our guys gave a good performance and IÆm confident weÆll get the three points we need in Barbados. ItÆll be interesting to see what happens in the remaining spot. … ItÆs not done, itÆs interesting.
What was missing tonight?
BA: We werenÆt able to solve them in the last third of the field. I think it got a little better when [Josh] Wolff got in the game, to be honest with you.
Were you able to get some instructions down?
BA: DonÆt worry. ThatÆs not the story of the game.
You switched to three defenders, were you pleased with their play?
BA: I think they were very solid. [Carlos] Llamosa, who had to deal with [Paulo] Wanchope most of the time, with [Gregg] Berhalter, did a very good job. And [Jeff] Agoos did a very good job on [Hernan] Medford. WeÆre certainly pleased with the way those three in the back played.
How did you feel [Jovan] Kirovski did in his role?
BA: He did all right. I thought he got a little bit tired. He had his moments in the 60-odd minutes he played. [Chad] Deering, given the fact that maybe he didnÆt have his legs to play 90 minutes, did pretty well. We were really grasping for a few bodies toward the end there when we lost [John] OÆBrien [to injury before the game].
Are you more comfortable with [Tony] Sanneh in the back, or what he played tonight?
BA: Well, [midfield] is probably his more natural position. I think heÆs more comfortable there. It remains to be seen the best way for us to play. To be very honest with you, we were very limited with numbers in this game, first of all.
by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns