The Americans took down the Socceroos 3-1 to add a little confidence in their last warm up before they face England next week. On a very sloppy and narrow pitch in Roodepoort, South Africa, the Americans got two goals from Edson Buddle in the first half before Hercules Gomez sealed the win in stoppage time. With Jozy Altidore out with an ankle sprain, Buddle got the start up top playing along side Robbie Findley.  Buddle’s finishes were both terrific while Findley missed two clear chances on goal. Neither Jose Torres or Stuart Holden made it on to the pitch, leaving me to wonder what they have done to Bob Bradley. I thought Torres was the difference maker against Turkey last weekend and was hoping to see him start today over Ricardo Clark. Gooch still looked like a man who hasn’t played much in the last 6 months and is clearly fighting to regain form before next week. If he can’t go, we can look forward to the still unsure partnership of Clarence Goodson and Jay DeMerrit. Steve Cherundolo found himself at right back today and put in a solid performance and could be chosen over Jonathan Spector who also didn’t make it on the pitch today.

Player Ratings:

Tim Howard – 7.0 – Solid outing.  No major gaffes.

Clarence Goodson – 6.5 – Still a lack of cohesion between Goodson and DeMerritt.  Goodson will be the one that sits if Gooch gets healthy.

Jay DeMerritt – 6.5 – See above.  But he’ll be in the line up against England next week.

Carlos Bocanegra – 6.5 – Came forward a little more on the left than Cherundolo on the right. We should see him for a full 90 next week as the left back options are very limited.

Steve Cherundolo – 6.5 – Playing right back. No big mistakes. Not a lot of runs forward, but a terrific cross on Buddle’s second goal. Could be a better option than Spector.

Landon Donovan – 7.0 – Not the strongest game for the US number 10. But was effective in possession, rarely losing the ball, but not showing his usual prowess coming forward.

Ricardo Clark – 5.0 – Anonymous for 90 minutes. Was rarely involved in the offense while sitting deep in the midfield. Where is Torres?

Clint Dempsey – 7.0 – Ran hard. Drew a couple of hard fouls. Scored a diving header that was called back incorrectly.

Michael Bradley  – 6.5 – Like Donovan, comfortable in possession. Moved the ball effectively from the defense to the offense for most of the game.

Edson Buddle – 8.0 – Two goals.  Looked positive coming forward. He’s nothing if he’s not in form.

Robbie Findley 6.0 – Got into dangerous positions but couldn’t finish.  Missed a wide open net in both halves. Rounded the keeper on a breakaway and then missed from 5 yards after a nice pass by Buddle.

Subs:

Oguchi Onyewu – 5.5 – Still looks to be regaining fitness and was not helped by a sloppy field today. Will he be ready for England?

Marcus Hahnemann – 5.0 – Missed two punches and looked very out of sorts with the defense. But Howard will play every minute barring injury.

Jonathan Bornstein – 5.5 – Came forward a little more than the other outside backs. Made a couple of his usual passes straight to the other team.

Hercules Gomez – 7.0 – Missed a pass to Findley while in on goal. But did score late to secure the win for the US.