By FRANCO PANIZO
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - MLS coaches were probably wishing that Joe Gyau was entering the upcoming draft.
Gyau, who is under contract with German club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, enjoyed an impressive outing in the U.S. U-20 national team's intra-squad scrimmage on Sunday afternoon. Gyau assisted on one goal and helped create another as U.S. White defeated U.S. Grey, 3-0.
Playing in front of MLS coaches who attended the game to watch the Generation Adidas players, Gyau nearly found the back of the net when he controlled a long ball with his chest before beating his defender and smashing a shot off the left post. The ball then ricocheted off the right post, but Bobby Wood tapped it in easily to give U.S. White a 2-0 lead.
"I'm not disappointed about not scoring, but I'm glad I helped my team win. Pretty good," said Gyau of his performance.
Gyau then got his assist minutes later when he fed Wood with a pass that the 1860 Munich hit low and hard to make it 3-0. Gyau's strong outing came just three days after playing well in a 0-0 draw against a Miami select team.
Kelyn Rowe also enjoyed a good showing, especially in the first half. Rowe created the first goal when he cut by a defender before hitting a shot that Cody Cropped parried away. Conor Doyle pounced on the loose ball and knocked it in.
Of the players entering the MLS Draft, Zarek Valentin and Perry Kitchen had the best performances. Neither was exceptional, but they didn't make any mistakes either.
"It was a pretty good first half, going both ways, each team had some chances," said Kitchen. "Going into the second half we made a lot of changes, switching guys to different places. Coach (Thomas Rongen) wanted to see guys in different positions, but I thought it was good. We've been going hard (at practice) the past few days, and to grind out that game, it was good."
The U.S. U-20 national team next plays Miami FC on January 12.
U.S. White Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Zac MacMath; Zarek Valentin, Gale Agbossoumonde, Perry Kitchen, Moises Hernandez; Amobi Okugo, Moises Orozco; Joe Gyau, Kelyn Rowe, Omar Salgado; Conor Doyle.
U.S. Grey Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Cody Cropper; Ethan White, Sebastien Ibeagha, Sacir Hot, Greg Garza; Conor Shanosky, Korey Veeder; Alex Zahavi, Alex Molano, Fabian Huerzeler, Bobby Wood.
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What do you think of Gyau's performance? Glad to see that the Generation Adidas player got a shot to impress the MLS coaches?
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