USA 3 – 1 Denmark; Good Job Bob!

Well Bob did a great job and so did the entire US Men’s National Team as they come away with a 3-1 victory over Denmark Saturday.

The Bradley era is off to a flying start and I couldn’t be happier with the performance. Every goal was of top quality and the game was truly a pleasure to watch.

The US began timidly as Denmark struck first in 37th minute when Dennis Sorensen fired off a brilliant header from a great cross from Simon Busk Poulsen. The Americans rallied and equalized quickly, however, when Donovan converted a penalty kick in the 44th minute, sending both teams into the locker room tied 1-1.

Jonathan Bornstein scored the go-ahead goal in the 57th minute off a spectacular assist from Justin Mapp, who dribbled madly through the field, orchestrating the play single-handedly. It was the first international appearence for both players.

The US weren’t finished, however, Kenny Cooper scored in a 1v1 break-away in 80th minute from an assist by Heath Pearce, putting the match out of reach for the Danes. Cooper was another first-time international, earning his first CAP today.

The friendly remained reasonably friendly, and there were no ejections and four yellow cards issued – one of which was for a goal celebration (Cooper removed his shirt) – (Match Facts).

The attendance was 10,048 (yes, I counted) and Sam’s Army was out in force, cheering, standing and singing for the entire match. A man a few seats to my left yelled, “tell the Europeans that we know how to play now!” after Bornstein’s finish and Mapp’s majesticaly constructed assist. I gave him a high five and a smile, as it was true. All of the goals were of a great quality, nothing dribbled in and no one got “lucky.”

Landon Donavan also had a solid performance, playing all 90 minutes and was very effective throughout the match. He created a number of plays and converted the 44th minute penalty kick which tied up the friendly. This officially ended his 18 game goaless streak, and it’s nice to see him back as himself after a far less-than-satisfactory appearence in Germany this summer.

Bob Bradley summed up the game by saying, “It is a good way to start the year. We had a number of guys who got their first chance to play for the United States. I thought that all of them responded really well. It has been a good camp. To see the team step on the field with a good mentality and a good amount of energy, and respond well to being down 1-0, I think those were all really good signs.”

That’s all true. The Americans performed exceptionally with a group of players predominantly unheard of prior to today. It’s a great boost of confidence going into the Battle of the Border, where the US will take on arch-rivals Mexico on February 7. And, while it wouldn’t be realistic to judge a manager’s overal ability as a national coach in just one game, I’m definitely a fan of Bradley after today. Whatever he did in his training camp seems to have worked. Must have been all those Wheaties!