USA coach Bradley satisfied despite loss to Slovakia

USA national team coach Bob Bradley said he was content with how his team performed despite losing 1-0 to Slovakia in an international friendly on Saturday.

Napoli’s Marek Hamsik’s first-half penalty separated the two sides but Bradley was satisfied that he was able to use some second-tier players in the match against a well-organised Slovakian outfit.

“I thought we had a good start to the match in the first 25 minutes. The penalty and going down 1-0 changed the game,” Bradley said.

“Slovakia is very well organized and has a lot of people behind the ball. We were not sharp enough with our ability in the attacking third to make a play and get through the defense.

“Jonathan Spector and Carlos Bocanegra played well together and both showed good understanding. It’s the first time we’ve used Spector as a center back. We were able to use Clarence Goodson as a reserve and we were able to see him. I think both in Jonathan’s case and Clarence’s case, it was good tonight.”

Although Bradley was happy to field a different line-up, he said the fact he was missing key players due to injury and club commitments did not help.

“This match was on opportunity to see some different players. I think the area tonight that let us down was the sharpness and execution in the attacking part of the field,” he added.