by Greg Seltzer for Soccer365

It was a night of rewarded lethargy as the U.S. escaped from Guatemala with three World Cup Qualifying points despite perhaps the worst 90 minutes of Red, White & Blue passing since last July's loss to Colombia - if not further back in time.

When passes did connect - and it was far too rare - the spacing was so abysmal that easy touches and productive lead balls were as scarce. Of course, it was a rough-and-tumble affair, but the hosts managed quite often to unleash players into operating space. In fact, the middle of the park and each flank were launching pads for Guatemala attacks for much of the night.

Certainly, we are tough enough to take part in a soccer melee on unfriendly CONCACAF turf and not one player made his WCQ debut in the game. And yet, the U.S. were outpassed, outran and out-mojo-ed for the opening hour.

And the staff sat there watching it all without a single meaningful adjustment until forced to change things by Steve Cherundolo's ejection.

Thankfully, it was also a night shine for Tim Howard, and the oft-maligned central defense pairing of Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu. Time and again, the rest of the team capitulated on the ball, turned it over and were run past, only to have the stonewall three pile on another brick.

Perhaps not oddly (considering the World Cup draw with Italy and a near miss Olympic rally against Nigeria), the Americans played better when reduced to 10 men, and better still after taking the lead in the 70th minute.

All of which brings me to my belabored point: it is no longer enough to say 'We got the win tonight' when it was only vaguely deserved. And folks, this was Guatemala. No matter how spritely they play, no matter how often the ref serves up some home cooking, no matter how many Jet Li skull raps they apply, the U.S. Men's National Team is well past the point of being content with what happened Wednesday night.

More specifically, they are well past the point of letting common underdog opponents dictate play, home or not. I mean, don't we want to "take the crowd out" in such matches? That's difficult to do when the home side has a 15-8 shot advantage.

Remind me again the reason Guatemala should be able to do that... seriously, it's time to throw this tired game plan out. It doesn't mean much that we can defeat mites with conservatism when we can't defeat the big boys with it.

The USMNT has players with speed, one-touch ability and the aggressive nature required to exploit gaps. They are allowed to do this with their clubs, so why not for their country?

In the end, though, it was ultimately a night where one big play was enough to claim a road warrior win. There but for the grace of Howard, his center backs and one marking breakdown from the outsized opponents goes three points.

U.S. Player Ratings

Tim Howard (7) - The Everton star was everything you'd ask a netminder to be in hostile environs. His aggressive play set up Bocanegra's heroics. Long gone are the days when critics can rant about any timid box demeanor from Timmy. One more performance like this and I'll have him in a new nickname: The Bacon Saver.

Steve Cherundolo (5) - Yes, he essentially was sent off for the combined offense of showing one second of silly petulance and being nearest to yet another Guatemalan flop, but the veteran was gradually putting himself in more positions to get beat as the game went on and that alone is a danger situation on CONCACAF travels. 'Dolo was actually looking pretty good until the half hour or so, but in the end, his greatest influence on the win sadly was his departure.

Oguchi Onyewu (7) - A nearly flawless performance from Gooch, who was so businesslike, he may as well have been wearing a tailored suit out there. He showed some decent ball skills to alleviate pressure a few times and was a superb aerial gatekeeper for Howard after the break.

Carlos Bocanegra (7.5) - Though he did have a couple of worrisome turnovers, the captain virtually willed this important victory. Not only did he clinically bury the best chance his side would have all night to provide the lone goal, but he showed the haunting touch of a ninja when confronting Guatemalan shooters approaching a final ball in the U.S. area. Very few were able to even get a remotely clean look at goal with Bocanegra closing space quickly and cleanly.

Heath Pearce (5) - Though beaten repeatedly over the opening half hour and then a bit more until the hour, Pearce was much, much better during the closing third of the match. Still, it was the shakiest he'd looked in a USMNT defense since... well... his first appearance against Guatemala. To be fair, his match fitness probably isn't up to par at the moment, what with his club situation in the air. It showed.

Pablo Mastroeni (4) - I fully understand the thought behind starting Pablo, so I'm not holding this against the coach like some might. That being said, it was a near disastrous night for the veteran, who looked like he was having Gelsenkirchen flashbacks from 2006. The Guatemalan road upfield was paved through his area for basically the entire 78 minutes he was on the field - and don't even get me started on his passing. But do bear in mind this is a "4" that I marked even though I had particularly noted three fine plays he made.  

Michael Bradley (5) - Though he wasn't certainly wasn't horrific, it just wasn't the best of nights overall from Bradley. I'm sure the Olympic/travel fatigue played some part, and it didn't help that Mastroeni had no intention of keeping a proper partnership distance in the middle. Like several of Wednesday's starters, he has had and will have better far better days in Red, White & Blue.

Landon Donovan (5) - The Galaxy star, like Dempsey, looked somewhat threatening in the early going. However, several opportunities to run in space on the right saw him fail to do much of anything with them and he gradually drifted out of the game. Some will say it was stationing him on the right that was a mistake, but he had put in numerous fine showings over there when a proper formation was in use.

Eddie Lewis (4.5) - Where to begin... ? Let's just say everything that was in recent sub appearances for the USMNT was absent in Guatemala. His spacing was miserable, he rarely was able to link up with Pearce and he never got himself in a position to ship those wonderful crosses of his. I did decide to give Eddinho a bonus half-point for taking that vicious flying blindside elbow; gripe over this scoring variable if you will, but I've been hit in that manner before - it's not pleasant.

Clint Dempsey (5) - Deuce started the game with lots of energy and verve, and it seemed like a great idea to have him running off of Brian Ching. But eventually, he was relegated to tracking back and linking a few nice flank combos. In all fairness, I'm not sure he received one good ball on the fly all night.

Brian Ching (5.5) - The Dynamo star spent most of the night disappointing with his touch and attack savvy, and spent far too much time out on the wings, but he is marked up for the final half hour of sturdy work. He absorbed Bocanegra's marker on the goal, then showed his #9 stuff by ably holding up the ball numerous times as the U.S. tried to close out the victory.

Coach Bob Bradley (3) - I'm sure many people will point to the result and ask why the continuing fuss? And I could understand that attitude if "Barely Gettin' By Since 2007" was supposed to be our modus operandi. Nevertheless, I was tempted to drop a goose egg on the boss for (I can't believe I'm actually writing this again) playing hang on and hope tactics against Guatemala. Let me try that again.. GUATEMALA!!!! In the end, I'll give him three point because that's what he got us with some late maneuvering... just don't wait so long next time. And yes, I can't believe I'm actually having to write that again as well.

Subs:

DaMarcus Beasley (7) - Da Bease added life, purpose and the winning assist, again showing why he is a vital wild card to the best of U.S. hands.

Frankie Hejduk (6) - Pressed into 10-man duty, the Crew veteran wasted no time getting himself dirty in this CONCACAF scrap.

Maurice Edu (6) - See Frankie Hejduk.

Soccer365 reporter Greg Seltzer blogs daily over at No Short Corners.

Official USMNT Jerseys at WSS!