Sacha Klestan: he needed a big night, and got one

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Finally, a couple of U.S. men stepped up and issued a declarative assertion for manager Bob Bradley: You should take me to South Africa!

Sacha Kljestan recorded the stoppage time winner over El Salvador in rainy Tampa. More than that, he had a solid match all the way around, and it will go a long way to moving him up the list of candidates for the final 23 this summer.

Here was the good and the bad from Wednesday's 2-1 win.

GOOD:  On a night when the United States wasn’t doing well at moving the ball quickly enough, Kljestan was one consistently doing so.  Through good movement off the ball, attention to his spacing and consistent restriction to just one or two touches, Kljestan did more than his part to keep the ball moving.  That may not strike you as scintillating stuff, but if everybody had been so focused on attention to detail and rapid ball movement, the Untied States would have won beaten this ragamuffin of a team 4-0 or 5-0.  Kljestan’s late runs into the penalty area were timely, although it looked like his night would be incomplete, dragged down by a couple of opportunities that he really should have put away.

In the end, Kljestan did calmly finish the sequence that mattered most, and he may well have earned a place on next week’s roster for the match against Holland.

Otherwise, Jonathan Bornstein had a second consecutive solid night. This time he was at center back (where he played for much of the 2009 MLS season with Chivas USA.) He's done enough; he'll be in South Africa.

Clarence Goodson continues to impress Bradley, although a little more information directed toward Brad Evans, or better communication with the experimental right back, may have prevented the U.S. from conceding a silly goal.

Heath Pearce was always in the attacking end, which says a lot when he was playing left back. In the end, it may not be enough for a spot in South Africa, but he’s back on the radar, at least.

Finally, the match showed that, at this point, Brian Ching probably still has more to offer than Conor Casey.  Ching may have limitations, but he understands urgency and the need for decisive action in the final third. His goal was well taken, but just as nifty was the quick combination and his choice to give the ball right back to Kljestan on the game-winning sequence.

The Bad: First, it has to be said that El Salvador does not look like a good team right now. Past a goalkeeper who did have a very good match, the Central American side was a bit of a mess. The United States needed to win this match by two or three goals. Here's why it didn't:

The work in the final third was generally awful.  Some of it was just technical imprecision (sloppy or thoughtless crosses, for instance). But too much of it was down to a lack of aggressive action. That’s inexcusable for players who needed desperately to make a difference. Bradley needed to see players willing to ruthlessly seize the initiative, willing to show some audacity and make the moment.  Robbie Rogers missed chances to cross the ball and Robbie Findley missed chances to bring others into a sequence or attack defenders aggressively at points when El Salvador was off balance defensively. Brad Davis and Casey gave away balls when they really weren’t under heavy pressure. (Davis did have other moments where he looked dangerous, and his set-piece ability remains useful.)

Generally, outside of Kljestan, the midfielders and forwards simply didn’t look confident in moving the ball through the final third. With roster spots just begging to be taken, several players once again missed on opportunities to impress.

I was bothered by Findley, in particular. He simply has to do more to “make the game.”  He’s got to be more assertive with the ball, become more of a predator, pouncing on chances to go at defenders.  Without the ball, he’s got be more aggressive as well.  It’s just not good enough to jog around, looking to react as the sequences develop. He’s got to create movement with sharper, harder runs off the ball. He needs to force defenders to make choices, opening up lanes for others and creating the kind of temporary confusion that will give him space once he does get the ball.

Otherwise, Brad Evans clearly wasn't comfortable as a right back. That was just an experiment, probably with an eye on the future, so there’s not much more to say about that one.

Kyle Beckerman found his footing somewhat, delivering some of the same intensity he does so regularly at MLS level. On the other hand, flagging foot speed and passing that too frequently lacks authority will hold him back at the international level.