It was rarely pretty, but a green U.S. national team side gutted out a 1-1 share with World Cup 2018 participants Peru in East Hartford, Connecticut on Tuesday night.
The hosts were supremely sloppy with the ball for much of the night, but clicked just enough in the second half to tee up Josh Sargent for the opener. They also yielded a large percentage of possession and bent repeatedly, but resisted breaking until Edison Flores bagged a deserved equalizer for Peru four minutes from time.
As a periodic reminder, all marks are handed out on a scale with "6" as an average grade. The ratings are also relative to minutes played, so a 90-minute "7" is more impressive than one earned from a half-hour shift.
Brad Guzan (5.5) - The U.S. netminder, who was barely bothered until the last 20 minutes, got bailed out by the crossbar with a quarter hour to go. Guzan probably could have come off his line to gobble up the cross that resulted in Peru's equalizer, but preserved the draw by swatting a tricky serve away from his far corner in stoppage time.
Reggie Cannon (5) - The FC Dallas debutant was extraordinarily tentative on and off the ball in the first half. Cannon improved a bit after the break, offering more defensive bite and some possession support up the flank.
Cameron Carter-Vickers (6.5) - While he wasn't exactly tidy, Carter-Vickers generally got the defensive job done through good positioning.
Raul Ruidiaz and Aaron Long | USA Today Sports Images
Aaron Long (6.5) - Though making his international debut, Long may have had the most "business as usual" look about him. The New York Red Bulls man turned away several crosses, piling up 12 defensive stops in total.
Ben Sweat (5.5) - The NYCFC left back was shaky as could be in the opening frame and never really contributed much going forward. However, he firmed up defensively in the second half, finishing with a team-high 14 total stops.
Wil Trapp (4.5) - Although his typically strong outlet passing game never showed up in earnest, Trapp had a few solid moments hoovering up loose Peru passes in the first half. Unlike some of his teammates, he regressed after intermission.
Marky Delgado (4.5) - The Toronto FC midfielder shipped a terrific early wing outlet to start a dangerous rush, but his first half was all downhill from there. There was far too much sloppy play on the ball and not nearly enough steel stopping it. His second half play was significantly better in both directions, but still not up to snuff.
Kellyn Acosta (4.5) - The Colorado Rapids midfielder was having an off night before leaving late with a knock. Acosta's best moment came on the smooth restart feed that teed up Sargent's goal, but the rest of his dead ball serves were poor. He was also sloppy with the ball, and like Delgado, was far too easy to bypass in central park.
Timothy Weah (4) - The PSG attacker displayed some decent industry here and there, but also was guilty of key mistakes. After narrowly missing a big first-half chance, Weah sadly whiffed on a brilliant doorstep chance to add late insurance. He also was lackadaisical in closing down the crosser on Peru's leveler.
Jonathan Amon (6) - The young winger quickly made it clear that he can get loose at this level, but he will need to make play decisions more quickly to stick around. For a debut, it was certainly encouraging.
Josh Sargent | USA Today Sports Images
Josh Sargent (7) - The second-youngest U.S. player on the field was also the most clever. Sargent created attack hope with some nifty link touches to free runners and patience in the area. Eventually, he got his goal reward with clinical, albeit deflected finish.
Coach Dave Sarachan (4) - An unwise midfield construction caused major problems all night long. It's a recurring theme with this program, and sooner or later someone will need to realize that bunching up the center of the park with holding players is a self-shackling strategy. And annoying for observers, at that.
Subs
Julian Green (5.5) - The early-second-half sub executed a couple of sorely-needed pressure valve maneuvers, but never threatened the Peru back line.
Bobby Wood (6) - Wood authored the fantastic setup that Weah missed, but his touch let him down on the two occasions he attempted to burst behind the Peru defense.
Michael Bradley (5.5) - The bald eagle was no help from a pressure valve standpoint, but pitched in with a couple of area clearances.
DeAndre Yedlin (2) - The young veteran basically had one job to do in his six minutes of action, but dozed off covering the back post on Peru's equalizer. Yedlin should be beyond such mistakes by now.
Antonee Robinson (-) - Nothing but a cameo.
