Turkish Delight

The US team bounced back from its disappointing performance against the Czechs on Tuesday to prevail 2-1 over a high-quality Turkish side on Saturday. Like the Czech team, the Turks just missed out on qualifying for this year's World Cup finals, but they are always a competitive and dangerous opponent. In 2002, the Turks finished 3rd in the World Cup, so there's no doubting their pedigree. This was a good test for the US team, although it did seem like Turkey quit on the game as the second half wore on.

For the first time in a long while, coach Bob Bradley filled out the US lineup with an eye on what the starting lineup could look like in South Africa. He went with his standard 4-4-2 featuring two defensive midfielders in Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark. The variation was that Clint Dempsey played up top with forward Jozy Altidore to make room in the midfield for Benny Feilhaber. At halftime, Bradley changed things up by replacing the strictly defensive Clark with Jose Torres in the middle, moving Dempsey back to midfield, and bringing on Robbie Findley up high. This second look was more effective than the first, primarily due to Torres' ability to distribute the ball.

The two goals the US scored in the second half were well-taken. There were no flukes here. Let's hope that we can get similar results in South Africa. On to the grades!

Starters:

GK -- Tim Howard -- B
Perhaps he could've stopped Arda Turan's goal, but it would've been a spectacular save. Howard was in the right positions most of the day, and he made a couple of good saves. Really the only negative on the afternoon was how he spent too much time cussing out his teammates. As a defender, you appreciate an intense goalkeeper who wants to command the penalty area. But when every single shot on goal becomes a stage for your keeper to lambast you with profanity, you actually start defending LESS because A) you're afraid of doing something wrong and stop doing anything and B) you start to actively dislike the guy and don't care if he gets beaten. Tim, shout when it's appropriate, not after every shot on goal. Even the best defenses are going to give up a few openings to a team as good as Turkey. At least Howard did also offer lots of moments of encouragement alongside the tongue-lashings.

D -- Jonathan Spector -- D+
It wasn't a good day for Spector, who seemed a little out-of-sorts during the first half. Spector struggled badly against Arda Turan on the flank, and made a couple of mis-steps that led to clear Turkish opportunities. He also failed to get very involved in the attack, although part of that was a lack of inventiveness from the midfield to get the flank players more integrated. Ironically, it was just after Spector's best effort of the day that the Turkish goal came. Spector embarked on a nice dribbling run deep into the Turkish defense. He reached the top of the Turks' penalty area before he was finally dis-possessed. However, he had a couple of chances during the run to flick the ball outside and failed to use his options. The really damning part was that nobody on the team covered back for him. That is simply inexcusable at this level of soccer. Even high-school teams know that if a defender charges forward with the ball that somebody has to drop back to provide cover. Nobody did, and it left Arda wide open for the breakaway that led to his goal. To Spector's credit, he sprinted all the way back from his dribbling run in a mad effort to defend the break. His teammates let him down. That sums up Spector's day. He failed to add any significant positives, and when he showed flashes of it, his teammates abandoned him and it turned into another negative.

D -- Jay DeMerit -- C-
DeMerit was bamboozled a couple of times by Turkey forwards with the ball. His one-on-one defending was suspect throughout the match. However, his positioning was usually great and he contributed enough headers and tackles to hold the fort. I don't think the goal was DeMerit's fault. It should have been a midfielder dropping back to cover for Spector, not the central defender who was already covering the deep middle. DeMerit lacks speed and can't be left to fend for himself against tricky wingers, but in the US system he can do his job adequately.

D -- Clarence Goodson -- C+
Coming off a solid performance against the Czechs, Goodson again produced a quality effort. Clarence was solid in the air and held up well on the ground. Like his counterpart DeMerit, Goodson does not excel at one-on-one defending, but as a covering central defender he reads the game well and is strong on the tackle. While he didn't do anything special, this performance should give coach Bradley the confidence to use Goodson in the finals if Onyewu is still dodgy coming back from injury.

D -- Carlos Bocanegra -- B
The captain hustled all over the field and was effective. He was the one defender that seemed capable of consistently passing the ball to a teammate. He had a fairly quiet afternoon overall, but that's a good thing, especially considering that our flank defense has been spotty at best in recent months.

M -- Landon Donovan -- A
Donovan started the game on the right, switched back to the left, then finally seemed to abandon any set position and roamed where the action was. In the end, he made the actions. Donovan looked a bit isolated in the first half and struggled to get involved. He looked dangerous when he got the ball at his feet, but that happened too rarely. In the second half, he kept swapping places with Dempsey on the flanks and the Turkish defense lost track of him. Donovan seized the opportunity that provided with a couple of devastating assists. His first assist was pure skill. He dashed into the box from an angle (to avoid offsides) and deftly tapped the ball (lofted over from Robbie Findley) around the onrushing goalkeeper. He had a chance to shoot himself but instead wrong-footed the defense with a perfectly controlled roller back to Jozy Altidore at the top of the 6-yard box. Altidore's virtual tap-in was so easy a 6-year-old could've scored it. The second goal was less about pure skill and more about determination and good luck. Donovan hustled his way onto the ball in traffic (I think Bradley made the initial feed to him), and then spun around and flicked the ball in the general direction of Clint Dempsey, who took it home for the score. Donovan's pass wasn't beautiful, but it was effective in that it avoided the defender and yet was soft enough for Dempsey to play. In the second half, Donovan was the best player on the field Saturday.

M -- Michael Bradley -- B-
He may be to blame for the Turkey goal when he failed to cover back. But other than that (which is conjecture), Bradley played a very good game. He wore his passing shoes on Saturday, and provided effective link-up play between the defense and the attack. His hustling defense was as good as always. He should've had a goal late in the game when he broke into the box with the ball at his feet, but he got indecisive and tried a weak pass back towards Dempsey instead of just shooting at goal.

M -- Ricardo Clark -- D
Ugh. Clark was simply poor Saturday. His touch, never the greatest, completely abandoned him and he sprayed balls around the field without any direction. He couldn't connect with teammates and needlessly lost the ball. Even his defensive work was sub-par. Usually Clark is a reliable ball-winner, but he looked decidedly average in that respect against Turkey. Hopefully this was just a bad day at the office.

M -- Benny Feilhaber -- C-
He looked more enterprising on the ball than most players, as usual. But Feilhaber was ineffective during his half of action. He seemed to be thinking of moves that nobody else was envisioning making, and his passes lacked bite. He also played an absolutely brain-dead cross back in his own end that turned into a scoring opportunity for the Turks. If Feilhaber was a more effective defender then perhaps he still could've rescued this performance. While he tried, it's just not his game. Benny had a disappointing day.

F/M -- Clint Dempsey -- B+
As is his wont, Dempsey faded in and out of the action through the 90 minutes. But when the pressure was on late in the game, Clint made a goal out of the barest opportunity. He received a tricky pass from Donovan with his hip, and was able to direct it in front where he could run at it. He out-fought the defender who was hanging on for dear life, and managed to poke the ball past a diving keeper for the game-winning goal. There are times when Dempsey looks like he's trying to be too cute, or that he's going through the motions. But nobody else on the US team has such a knack for pulling rabbits out of hats. It seems like Dempsey always makes at least one great play a game, and that's why he's always on the field, whether in midfield or up top.

F -- Jozy Altidore -- B-
Despite its low difficulty rating, Altidore still deserves credit for his goal. We've all seen (and perhaps even suffered ourselves) guys inexplicably choke away those "gimmes" in the past. Jozy also hustled hard and made the Turkish defense nervous with his runs. He had a particularly inspired run in the first half past a defender that nearly resulted in a goal when his cross towards Dempsey was just inches out of reach. You'd like to see your top forward do that sort of thing more than once or twice a game, but at least Altidore CAN do it and sometimes does.

Substitutes:

D -- Steve Cherundolo -- B
Cherundolo has given Bradley something to chew on. Steve has more experience than Spector, and is playing better soccer at the moment. He doesn't have Spector's height, nor does he have the same skill on the ball. But Cherundolo is very good at getting into positions that help his midfielders open the field and he plays simple passes that don't give away possession. He's an effective outside defender with just enough speed to keep up with play. He may have a limited upside, but he also has the lowest downside. Cherundolo is usually very consistent and could play against any opponent without fear. He might get the call in place of Spector.

D -- Oguchi Onyewu -- B
Fortunately, he had little to do after replacing Clarence Goodson at halftime. It's clear that Bradley is putting Onyewu out there in an effort to get him back into game-shape by June 12th. Mission accomplished on Saturday, as Onyewu looked far less rusty than he did on Tuesday against the Czechs. That said, the US was controlling the action during the second half and Onyewu was rarely tested. He did make one key shot block late in the game, and was never out of position that I saw, but we still don't really know if Onyewu is back in form or not.

M -- Jose Torres -- A
This was simply the best performance I've seen from Torres. We all saw the skill he possessed a few months ago, but the pace of the game seemed to elude him. On Tuesday, and again on Saturday, Torres showed he can keep up, without losing his touch on the ball. Torres was far more effective than Clark (whom he replaced at halftime) because he provided simple passes to teammates and gave defenders an outlet for their passes. He didn't give the ball away easily and he hustled hard to win it back. His defense will never remind anyone of Franco Baresi, but he at least gave it an effort. Basically, Torres and Feilhaber are the same player. Both can generate some offense and maintain possession. Both are merely try-hard defenders. But right now, Torres is in good form and Feilhaber looks a little off his game. I think Torres is almost certain to see some time on the field in South Africa, especially if the US is trailing a game and needs more offensive potential. Quite frankly, he should be starting if he can keep playing like this.

F -- Robbie Findley -- B
Findley changed the complexion of the game when he replaced Feilhaber at halftime (Dempsey dropped back to Feilhaber's midfield slot and Findley stayed up top). His speedy runs opened more seams in the Turkish defense as they ran to keep up with him. He did an admirable job of accepting passes and getting other teammates involved. His pass to set up the first goal was simply beautiful. It was a delicate chip that pulled the keeper out of position while setting Donovan up for his move. Findley was fearless in taking on defenders and putting pressure on the goal. Unfortunately, he reverted to his poorer form late in the game, charging towards the endline and losing the ball rather than trying to find teammates in the box. Findley has always had the natural talent, as evidenced by his play in MLS last season. The questions have been about his touch on the ball and his decisions with it at his feet. On Saturday, his touch was great and his decisions (at least at first) were good. He showed why Bradley selected him for the squad, but one good showing doesn't mean he's turned the corner.

D -- Jonathan Bornstein -- F+
It may seem harsh to grade Bornstein thus, seeing as how he only played 15 minutes after replacing Bocanegra at left defense. It may also seem harsh considering that the US defense was not breached during his time on the field. But if you watched the game, you saw the Turks abusing Bornstein almost from the moment he stepped on the grass. Bornstein was turned inside-out on one run that the US was fortunate to survive. He seemed to always be a step behind the play and was unable to provide any offensive threat of his own. Turkey actually changed their game to get the ball more on to Bornstein's side of the field, and it created more openings for them. Our team may be built around Donovan, Dempsey, and Bradley, but nobody is more important right now than Bocanegra, because only he seems capable of playing left back with any competency.

M -- Stuart Holden -- NG
Holden only saw a handful of minutes, and can't be graded for a cameo.

The US looked good Saturday, primarily in the second half. The key was the insertion of Torres into the lineup in place of Clark. He was able to give us more attacking options and involve the flank players more often than Clark did. That (along with Findley's running) slowly pried open the Turkey defense and we managed to grab a couple of goals. Against defensive teams like Slovenia and Algeria, we'll need that ability again.

SAH