It was a sloppy match, one where nobody really stuck out in any way, good or bad.
It was hard to take a lot out of it, except that Scotland have much improved since being wrecked by the United States last May, and that our patchwork squad of reserves isn’t exactly used to playing together.
There weren’t many promising moments, and there were a few nervy moments at the back. Otherwise, nothing disastrous and nothing excellent.
A snoozer, for lack of a better description.
Thus, deciding a Man of the Match is tall task. However, this opens up a number of opportunities, including giving substitutes some consideration. Here are some options:
Sacha Kljestan
In the middle of the US attack for the first 45 minutes, Kljestan was also the center of their creativity. He found space and spread out the opportunities to his teammates.
However, Kljestan was a bit wild on the ball. His first touches were awful, and it often let him down and caused a turnover of possession.
Tim Howard
He didn’t have to do much, but made one outstanding save and showed good communication and understanding with his back four.
Robert Snodgrass, who has shown free-kick prowess already this season with Norwich, blasted in a stunner that bent over the wall and screamed towards the top-right corner. Howard was there and read it all the way for a spectacular save.
He also avoided collisions with his defenders when coming out to collect a corner, cross, or long ball, something that has proven to be a problem with goalkeepers at clubs and countries this season.
Jermaine Jones
Jones faded in the second half, but his possession play before the break was pretty good. He didn’t shy away from the higher-risk, higher-reward pass which was nice to see.
He was accurate as well, showing a high level of focus, something which is occasionally his weakness.
Brek Shea/Aron Johannsson
The two substitutes on the list, the pair connected incredibly well and played with pace and creativity down the left-hand side.
Johannsson got a feed from Shea that he should have buried, but missed just inches right. He also had a chance before that which nutmeged a defender but was saved well by David Marshall and somehow Jozy Altidore’s rebound attempt(s) weren’t able to be directed goalbound.
It’s a good performance from the two, and with so many others underwhelming on the day it could buy one or both a start against Austria. It would be nice to see what the two can do with a full 90 to work with, or even 60.
Our pick:
I should probably say “my pick” because I guarantee if you poll our writers you may get five different answers, and I’m sure there are players not discussed here who some believe could have earned the award. Michael Bradley played solid and played some nice long balls early, and Alejandro Bedoya was creative in the first quarter of the match, just to name a few.
I will take the easy route and award it to Tim Howard for his outstanding save. Everyone else on the list you could say “yea but...” and although Howard didn’t have too much to do, he came through every time. Well done to the fill-in captain!
