I was tempted to post a match report directly after the final whistle, but interest in Mexico-Honduras (more on that game and the fallout coming soon) and the lateness of the hour conspired to keep my lazy.
After a night to sleep on the result, I think my view of the match has changed a little anyway, so perhaps it was good to wait.
More, including highlights (a.k.a. The Jozy Show) after the jump.
So what does a 3-0 result against an obviously disinterested T & T side, on home soil, mean? Frankly, I don't think it means a whole hell of a lot.
Sure, Jozy looked good, and I'm happy to see him get the hattrick. He was dangerous all night, and he was able to put himself in good positions on a fairly regular basis.
But that club situation needs to get rectified quickly. Hopefully Jozy's week (4 goals in 2 games; what most would call a pretty good strike rate) gets him some runout in Spain. While we as Americans are prone to hyperbole when it comes to our young talent, and therefore probably give Jozy just a little too much credit, all we're really looking for right now is a little playing time for the kid. 2009 looks as if it might be Altidore's first chance to impress on the greater international stage (don't forget about the Confed Cup in the summer), and consistent work at his club is a necessary ingredient to his continued development.
Sidenote: Jozy now has 6 goals in 9 international appearances.
Although most of the focus is quite rightly on Jozy this morning, there were plenty of other players on the field who played well. Landon Donovan had a particularly good game, and showed why he's still the focal point of the American offense. Every chance seemed to go through him, and he set up attack after attack with his pace and positioning.
While it is only a brief two-game sample, Donovan looked much more comfortable playing on the left side of midfield last night than he did playing a central role in El Salvador on Saturday. No conclusions from me, just observations. The move of DeMarcus Beasley to fullback is sure to be hotly debated, and while the result will cloud some fans' judgement of how he actually performed, Beasley and Donovan seemed to have a decent partnership going on the left side of the field.
Pablo Mastroeni stuck out as a strong performer, calming and controlling midfield alongside Michael Bradley.
Clint Dempsey never featured prominently in the attack, though he did have several decent moments, and was always a threat that the T & T defense had to honor.
Brian Ching, after being so ineffective as to be almost invisible on Saturday, did yeoman's work across the top, and showed why Bob Bradley continues to start him.
As for the team's performance overall, it was obviously a massive improvement over the El Salvador match. The only problem with the result is that it's difficult to put in proper perspective; coming off a poor performance, playing on home soil, and facing a team that never seems entireley interested in the game, the Americans did what they were supposed to do. Is the ship completely righted, and should we go back to feeling cocky and confident (the fans I mean, not the players) as the CONCACAF big dogs? Maybe, though it's obvious that there's a ton of work to do.
Bottom line: a win is a win, and it was great to get back on the right side of things after El Salvador. Coupled with Mexico's complete meltdown in Honduras, last night was a great night for fans of the National Team.
Here are the highlights:
