McCarthy's Musings: Job Done

By Kyle McCarthy

 Chances are he learned quite a bit more about this assortment of players after Wednesday night's 2-0 win over Honduras at R.F.K. Stadium.  “We knew this would be a good challenge for us,” Bradley said. “Honduras is a good team. This was a game that was going to go a long ways towards determining who finished first in the group.”

 For a few players, this was their first chance to stake their claim for consideration during the second half of World Cup qualifying.

 The Columbus duo of Robbie Rogers and Chad Marshall probably did the most for themselves on this evening, with Rogers showing more than just his electric pace down the left and Marshall proving an impenetrable tower in the center of defense. Others – Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman, most notably – probably also boosted their chances to a considerably lesser extent.

 Individual statements fell somewhere below the collective performance in importance considering the implications this particular match had on the later rounds. Top spot in Group B meant a far easier path to the finals and that looks all but assured with this victory. Only the meager requirement of a draw against Haiti at Gillette Stadium on Saturday stands in the way of clinching first place in the group.

 Bradley was pleased at how this rather inexperienced group coped with the challenge presented by Honduras and the heavily pro-Honduran crowd in the American capital.

 “The response of our team was quite good,” Bradley said. “In games like this, there just has to be a good collective effort from start to finish. We had the ability at certain points to bring on certain subs who could help.”

Although Bradley will be pleased with result, he may not be as thrilled with how the collective performed before Benny Feilhaber and Charlie Davies arrived in the 64th minute. Brian Ching looked starved of his proper service without Feilhaber's deft passing in the middle of the park as the offense looked somewhat blunt and the passing looked somewhat patchy. All in all, it wasn't a particularly engrossing or accomplished performance prior to the double switch.

 When the accomplished attacking players came on, the Americans seized control. Feilhaber and Davies contributed heavily to the singular moment of quality in the match, a sweeping move from left to right – including touches by the two substitutes, Rogers and Ching – capped off by Quaranta for his first international goal. Ching's subsequent second – a fairly simple header from a Steve Cherundolo cross – only mattered for the margin of victory.

 Now the trick is recreating moves like that one without Feilhaber – who is expected to return to AGF Aarhus after this one-match cameo – to orchestrate them for the rest of the tournament. Freddy Adu's return to Benfica after a disappointing two-match stint will hamper the team considerably less.

 Bradley will push off the problem posed by Feilhaber's departure until the knockout stages. At least on this night, he can rest somewhat comfortably with a win and an increased sense of how some of his fringe players would react under adverse circumstances.

 Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.