The scoreline should have read Veterans 2, Neophytes 1 after the U.S. national team’s youthful lineup lost in Trinidad & Tobago Wednesday, writes Jeff Carlisle. The young American players showed that while they are “indeed talented, they’ll need considerably more seasoning before being trusted with, say, a road match” in Mexico or Costa Rica.
The game delivered “some hard lessons” for players such as Jozy Altidore, Jose Torres, and Maurice Edu, born out by Altidore’s “ridiculous tug on T&T defender Makan Hislop’s jersey — in full view of the referee — that led to Yorke’s 79th-minute [game-winning] penalty. Such a brain cramp simply can’t happen in the cauldron that will be the final round of qualifying.”
Edu delivered “wayward passes that had to be seen to be believed.” Even veterans such as defender Frankie Hejduk “spent much of the second half passing the ball to anything but a white jersey,” while DaMarcus Beasley “was hardly involved at all, and when he did get the ball, he seemed to be operating a few gears slower than he has in his two previous matches.”
Only Freddy Adu showed more composure than his teammates, although he “was by no means perfect.” And substitute Charlie Davies took his goal nicely, performed well with his back to goal, and made “an overall nuisance of himself in the box. Other than these two performers, there was little else to get excited about.”