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Honduras scores late to force USMNT to settle for another draw

USMNT Honduras 11

Photo by Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports
 

By FRANCO PANIZO

BOCA RATON, Fla. — For the second straight match, the U.S. Men’s National Team scored early. For the second straight match, a late goal robbed the Americans of a victory.

The U.S. were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night, as Maynor Figueroa netted an 86th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw at FAU Stadium. Jozy Altidore had scored an early opener off a ball from Michael Bradley, but Figueroa pulled Honduras level when he beat experimental centerback Jermaine Jones to a free kick and nodded it home.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s side controlled much of the first half of the friendly played in front of a crowd of 14,805, but Honduras came up with a better showing in the closing half. The Hondurans looked the more dangerous of the two teams in the attack, but the U.S. defense held firm until a foul from Mix Diskerud awarded the Hondurans a free kick from the right side that wound up in the back of net.

“I think we started really well, got that goal through Jozy, nice goal,” said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “Then after 30-35 minutes, we kind of dropped a little bit and the second half was then difficult to keep the rhythm going and the sharpness and Honduras looked good and energetic.

“I think at the end of the day, they deserved then the equalizer. I think as a result it was okay a 1-1.”

Playing in front of several friends and family in his hometown, Altidore gave the U.S. the advantage in the 10th minute.

Two minutes after mis-hitting a pass to Clint Dempsey on an attacking sequence that looked promising, Altidore made amends for that by latching onto a sublime aerial ball from Michael Bradley. The 24-year-old striker brought the ball down, cut back on his right foot and fired a low shot into the post that Donis Escober could do nothing about.

The goal was Altidore’s first since scoring in a friendly vs. Nigeria in June before the World Cup, where he suffered a hamstring injury early into the Americans’ opener that sidelined him for the rest of the tournament.

“It’s always great scoring,” said Altidore, who let out pure emotion after netting his 24th goal in a U.S. jersey. “It’s a nice feeling when you score for the national team and to have everybody from my family, literally – my cousins from Haiti, they came so it was really special for me to have them here to watch me play – it was a nice feeling.”

The Americans bossed possession for much of the first half, but the other quality scoring chance went to Honduras in the 19th minute. An advanced Nick Rimando hit a bad pass out of the back that went right to Andy Najar, and the Honduran sent a sizzling shot just over the crossbar as the U.S. goalkeeper scrambled to get back in position.

Honduras came out much sharper in the second half, and threatened the American back line much more than in the opening 45 minutes in part because of the number of substitutions made on both sides.

Rimando was forced to push away a low shot from outside the penalty area in the 54th minute, and substitute Mario Martinez hit sidenetting on an effort in the 69th after getting slipped in on goal.

“You want to kind of get the game done (with another goal) and get the win,” said Klinsmann. “On the other hand, you always know when you sub six players, you kind of interrupt the rhythm. Here and there, the finetuning is not there, there’s always a little bit of a risk – certain understandings are not there, mechanisms are not there – but it is important even if it is just 20 minutes to see a player.”

One of those players that Klinsmann got a chance to see in game action was Miguel Ibarra, the Minnesota United winger who made his international debut with a late substitute appearance.

His entrance came after Honduras had scored. Diskerud was called for a foul, and the ensuing free kick was whipped in by Martinez. Figueroa had created just enough space from Jones, who was playing at centerback for the first time with the U.S., and flicked the ball past Rimando.

“Frustrating not to win,” said Dempsey. “It was an opportunity to play some new guys, get some new faces out there and build upon the future, and try and figure out what our best eleven is going to be moving forward.

“It’s a building process, and that’s what every team is going through right now.”

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What do you think of the U.S.’s 1-1 draw with Honduras? Worried about seeing the Americans concede another late equalizer? Which players impressed/disappointed you?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I had a crazy dream, JJ was playing as a CB, Jozy actually scored and we parked the bus against Honduras with most of our starting squad, hahaha…

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  2. 1. Zusi was miserable. His time should be up. He doesn’t fit the mold of wingers needed to play the attacking brand of soccer we are transitioning to.

    2. Bedoya’s work rate is first class, and that’s where the accolades stop

    3. JJ will have to be more disciplined to play CB, but I think with exoerience, he can be a viable option there.

    4. A CM pairing of Mix and MB is exciting moving forward, just swap their roles. Mix is a play maker; Bradley is best in the deep lying CM role. If we are to play possession/build from the back siccer, we don’t need that destroyer #6

    5. Garza is the LB. Fits what Jurgen wants on a wing back. Can see him really blossoming during this cycle.

    6. Yedlin is best as a RM for now. I think Fabian sticks as the RB this cycle, and Yedlin and Chandler are options to play at RB or LB if necessary

    7. Guzan is our #1 now. Rimando is a great backup, but looked way too shaky for my liking. Acs I don’t think Rimando will be starter material 4 years from now.

    8. Wood shows glimpses of his potential. Can see him being a factor this cycle just as easily as I can see him never being heard from again. But no doubt one to follow.

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    • Jag.. that’s a pretty impressive list..Well done.
      Twellman said something on the bootroom post game that was a good thought ( yes I actually said that).. He said its good Jozy scored.. but in our current pool he has nobody pushing him for playing time.
      We have some exciting young wingers and some good technical mids who hopefully will pan out.. but no good striker on the horizon to challenge him..or sub for him

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    • ITA, adding that Dempsey did not play well. Other than the flick on to Bradley during the goal sequence, he added nothing. Can’t fault him for Jozy’s poor pass. Also, would a taller goalie co me out and nabbed the cross on Figueroa’s goal? Rimando was mediocre. Played nothing like against the Czechs.

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    • Yedlin as a RM in 4 3 3, be interesting to see it, wonder what might happen. you see him as the winger up top or in the triangle?

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    • Great goal there. I think the goal, and Jozy’s performance in general tonight, illustrates exactly why he’s performed so poorly in England.

      Simply put, although Jozy is big and strong and can play target forward in a pinch, he’s not a target forward by nature. He likes to come back to get the ball so he can play quick passes to teammates, or to receive the ball on the run where he can create separation to get off his shot (which he can uncork quickly and with good power and placement). He can play with his back to the goal but is infinitely more comfortable facing it, even if he’s receiving the ball in motion. He’s basically a midfielder stuck in a striker’s body.

      The trouble he’s run into in England (at both Sunderland and Hull) is that they expect him to play the traditional target forward role — get on the end of long balls, make runs in the box, get on the end of crosses, finish at close range. While he’s not absolutely terrible at doing most of those things (except for the last one — he’s been a legitimately awful finisher even on the rare occasions he’s gotten service in the box), they don’t come naturally to him and the confidence isn’t there to pull them off consistently. Ultimately, he’s going to need to go somewhere where they let him be him.

      Could Jozy play like Jozy and be successful in the EPL? I have no idea, and more importantly, it’s extremely unlikely that a team would take the gamble of building around his skillset at this point. But I do think that, sooner or later, it’s going to be in his best interest to go to a place that let’s him play his way, even if it’s a lesser league.

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  3. How many times did Chandler get stranded upfield, forcing Jones to put out a dangerous threat down that side?

    Bradley repeatedly shied away from tight spaces and retreated.

    Is it DISK-uh-rood or, as Ian Darke says, disk-uh-ROOD?

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    • I love Ian Darke, but my general rule of thumb is to go with whatever pronunciation he *doesn’t* use. Although I did enjoying watching “Díanderre, Yedlin” get a run-out against “Hondu-rass”

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    • And on your Chandler point, yes, I think that’s his basic weakness. Generally, he understands what’s he’s supposed to do, but is good for 1 or 2 boneheaded mistakes per game — either he gets stranded too far upfield or fails to be aware of opposing players running up behind him.

      I actually think that, although Yedlin has the reputation of being the more raw defender, he actually does a better job of hustling back on defense and is a more physical defender than Chandler. I like the Chander-Yedlin partnership on the right, but suspect it might be more productive with Yedlin as the RB and Chander as the RM.

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      • Chandler definitely looked better last week than tonite. But I noticed something I haven’t seen from him before…in both games.
        He seems like he finally belongs; Very Rah Rah with his teammates, more vocal communicating, and I like how he went after the guy who grabbed Rimando on that play in the box.
        If he can get steady playing time…and eliminate his one required bonehead play per game… I’m glad he’s in the rotation.
        Definitely looks more comfortable on the right.

      • i think some of that has to do with Yedlin and him being more comfortable playing together. him and Green looked good too. but Chandler and Zusi just didn’t seem to have their rhythm worked out.

        and sure, Chandler wasn’t at his best last night, but his first half was actually pretty good if you ask me. i’d really like to see JK use Garza at LB, Johnson at LM with Yedlin at RM and Chandler at RB. i think that’s the winning combo.

        of course, petro4ever’s idea of moving Chandler to RM and Yedlin to RB would be cool too.

      • Yedlin as a RM in 4 3 3, be interesting to see it, wonder what might happen. you see him as the winger up top or in the triangle?

  4. not a very encouraging team performance, but at least some individuals stood out. overall, these last two friendlies have left something to be desired because there just weren’t enough positives to take away. add on the Gyau injury and LD being retired and i want to say this whole camp was a major bummer.

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  5. Why Coach Klinsmann is insistent on playing Michael Bradley in an advanced role and Mikkel Diskerud at the bottom of a diamond is beyond me.

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      • I don’t think its necessary to have those qualifications to see those two players are playing out of position.

      • It should be obvious to anyone who has followed the game for a while that exceptional players are not necessarily competent coaches. And even if Klinsmann knows more than we do (as he almost certainly does), it doesn’t follow from the fact of that knowledge that his judgment is any good.

      • Stupid statement. He’s not above questioning. No one is. And, he’s already proven he should be questioned.

    • Klinnsmann played Bradley in an advanced role in the World Cup and that experiment failed miserably. Bradley not comfortable in advanced role.

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      • Bradley in an advanced role behind a lone striker “failed” at the world cup in the sense that he couldn’t seize control of a game. Of course there’s no guarantee he could have anyway given our level of competition and we did get out of the group so failed is relative.

        Bradley today (and against nigeria pre wc) was playing advanced behind two strikers. I’d say the jury’s still out on how well that role suits him.

    • Actually, I thought it was clever of JK to ask each of the three (Bradley, Mix and Jones) to play in spots where they are not as comfortable as usual.
      Jones is not patient and loves to mix it up, having to play with more composure and with no one behind him is a challenge (I thought he did ok with it.)
      Bradley likes to drift back to keep the field in front of him and has a bit more trouble when he has things going on behind him. (I thought he did ok, but as the game wore on, he reverted to playing deeper where he was more comfortable).
      Mix is not a natural pit bull defender and asking him to play defensive mid is a challenge for him to be more aggressive defensively, (I thought he mostly did ok, but again as the game wore on, he played less defensively and was content to watch from up top as Bradley fell back to cover for him until he made what can only be called a bad challenge that gave up the free kick that tied the game.)
      Of the three, Jones had the best game, but Bradley’s pass to Altidore was great. Mix made some passes, but no one could make much of them, he made a bad mental error with that tackle and pretty much failed as a defending midfielder, albeit with some good attacking moments.)

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      • It’s not clever, It’s something you do if you have a kid, “kid” mind you, for an entire season and you want to develop a part of their game you think they have in them. Bradley, Mixx, and Jones may (and that is a very doubtful “may”) have it in them to play these roles but one or two friendlies for guys that have had established positions for years is not going to have any impact

      • Well I was being a bit easy on JK. Of course none of have seen how they handled these roles in training and JK has,

    • As I said above, I’d bet it was a development decision.

      Trying to transition from a bunkered-up 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 is HARD. Everything changes. In particular the notion of a “#6” or a “#10”. What you really wind up with in a true 4-3-3 is three center midfielders, who attack up the field, and then harry and harass going backwards…you must have three guys who are both good on the ball and then have the energy to track back for 90.

      Mix is good going forwards, but he’s not an iron man. Contrariwise, Baby Bradley can run until doomsday, but he’s always been…uncomfortable, the higher up the pitch he gets. In a 4-4-2, no problem. Just play Mix high and Bradley underneath him…but we aren’t going to be a 4-4-2 team this cycle; we’re going to a 4-3-3 with three CM’s who must now be two-way players. So he flipped them, and made them both do what they don’t do well.

      It’s how you use early-cycle friendlies like this, if you’re a coach. Also why Jermaine Jones is now suddenly a CB.

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      • Wish I had caught this before I posted (for some reason, it didn’t show up on the thread for me until after I posted mine). I think this is exactly what is going on.

      • i concur.

        bradley plays fine in the attack (remember… the guy with the assist today?…). it was a friendly and JK used it as an excercise as you said.
        i think he works best in the system you describe. imagine a 4-3-3 with Gyau, Jozy, Yedlin. Mix, MB and Clint in the middle, and ….4 defenders…haha. it can only work if mix “gets tougher” and better playing 2–way. You’d essentially have a form of a 4-2-3-1 yet the 4-3-3 allows more attacking width. clint would almost sit behind jozy to keep the partnership going. speed out wide with yedlin and gyau, two 2-way midfielders in MB and mix and it could be a strong team….. if we develop that way.

        additionally, this would set up for a transition, some years down the line, for a talented attacking mid or creative forward to replace Clint as that third attacking mid (a CAM more or less)– Rubio? Agudelo? Wood? Zalalem? Gil? idk

      • you know what’s hard? making a player who plays facing the goal to play a position with his back to goal. we’ll see how it goes. tried the same thing with Torres and Williams, did not work for them either.
        also, why use a formation without the requisite pieces? Isn’t it best to identify your best players and then play formations and strategies that best suit their strengths? honest question quozzel

      • To some extent he’s done that, and continues to. The World Cup, while hardly an exhibit in style, was pretty much an exercise in utter pragmatism – which it had to be, if we were going to get out of the Group of Death. We simply weren’t going to impose our will on the most athletic squad in the World Cup – Ghana was sort of a soccer version of the 1990’s Miami Hurricanes, freak athletes all over the place, and Germany was, well, Germany. Technical machine with by far the most imposing work rate in the tournament. Belgium wasn’t far off that. Only against Portugal did we really impose ourselves and attempt to press and dominate possession. So what you saw in the World Cup was a defensive-minded, 4-2-3-1 that really did play to our strengths – which were our defensive mids and keeper, and size at CB. The idea was largely to funnel everything to the flanks, make people doink balls over the top, where guys like Gonzalez, Cameron, Besler, and Brooks were waiting to just head it back out, and it largely worked. Klinsmann had also conditioned the guys almost to the point of insanity…again, with the notion that when the other team had run itself out, the USMNT guys were still going to be motoring at the end of games, where we’d then attempt to smash and grab.

        We got panned for style, but it was effective. And we did get out of the group, and almost nicked one against Belgium. You might also recall, we almost got Germany as well…towards the end of that game, we were surging, and it was the Germans who were being pressed into emergency defending with the Americans swarming all over their goal.

        That said, Klinsmann wants to be an attacking 4-3-3 team, and now he’s got a vastly-improved base of young players and an entire cycle to build up what he really wants. I am sure over the short term, he’ll keep leaning on the likes of Clint Dempsey – which predicates something other than a 4-3-3, since he’s most effective in the hole as a false nine, which a 4-3-3 doesn’t have – but over the long term….

        And here’s the thing…isn’t that why we HIRED Klinsmann, to revamp how the USMNT plays? We wanted to get out of stock-standard 4-4-2 bunker-ball, play more proactive, attacking soccer…and that does mean a 4-3-3. You look at the USSF youth-development modules for licensed coaches, they expressly state – and this was even pre-Klinsmann – the strong preference for even youth teams training with the 4-3-3. The vision for US soccer has been, for awhile, that we play the attacking soccer the world powers like Germany, Brazil, and Spain do.

      • thanks for thoughtful reply

        panned for style only because he panned the style to get all the power and control he demandd then played the same way, essentially, which irked some of course, rightly so imo

        on 4 3 3, yes, that’s what was started with Reyna I believe, right? how the youth systems are being told to develop. however, 4 4 2 does not mean non-attacking soccer necessarily at all! depends on personnel but attacking soccer does not mean 4 3 3 only or bust

        on the personnel, how does Yedlin fit here in 4 3 3? what abut Fabian, you think he can play in the triangle or only the LB/RB?

        I think it’s more to have formation options available depending on personnel, not a preferred style but more a matchup style depending on foe. which is great to see. See, I’m not anti Klinsi across the board, just when he deserves it 😉

    • I don’t know for sure what Klinsmann’s thinking, but based on his past statements and the line-ups he trotted out in the first 2 games of this cycle (neither of which had a purely defensive CM), I suspect he’s trying to send a message to both players that he’s looking for his midfielders to be versatile, fully-two-way players, rather than specialists. Diskerud isn’t going to be able to get away with being a purely offensive player who doesn’t help out on D. Bradley can’t be content to sit in front of the defense and play passes from deep. Both have to address and develop the areas in which they are comparatively weak and Klinsmann may have been sort of forcing the issue by putting them both in the line-up and forcing them to play roles that go against their respective strengths. The ultimate goal probably isn’t to turn Mix into a #6 or Bradley into a #10, but to have at least 1 of them develop into a do-everything central midfielder capable of starting and playing at a high level in a major tournament.

      Complete and utter speculation on my part, but based on what we’ve seen from Klinsmann, probably a logical and explanation as any…

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      • yes, this is a good theory, probably what Klinsmann is going for. However I think the kind of growth we are talking about would primarily need to happen for them at the club level. This means they would need situations that forced/spurred this growth, and unfortunately neither is in a good place for that to happen right now. I’d really like to see both players at new clubs (in Europe).

      • Bradley playing in an advanced midfield role has nothing to do with an experiment or trying to develop him. He’s playing there for the same reason Deandre Yedlin is playing left mid instead of fullback. NEITHER OF THEM CAN PLAY DEFENSE. Bradley is soft, can’t tackle and gets juked out of his boxers by lesser players. Just because he plays deep doesn’t mean he can play deep. His donkey touch didn’t help out his case for a starting job. Keep him on the bench if he can’t do his job.

      • You are right players have a lot more time with their clubs and that is were they will develop and improve.

        What JK can do in these friendlies is make it obvious what he would like to see each player do better or more often (Mix defend, Bradley get forward, Jones be more patient, Altidore take some shots, Dempsey, others?)

    • We don’t have anyone who can effectively fill in for Bradley at the base of the midfield and do what he does distribution-wise. Mix potentially can be that person, but he needs to work on his defensive game. It’s weird to see him playing behind Bradley, but it’s good that he’s getting a chance to show he can be Bradley’s understudy.

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  6. Experimental season. Weird seeing Mix so far back. Zusi is reliable, but lack of speed is starting to worry. If Yedlin works on better technical ability, he should overtake him.

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    • It’s sort of weird to see Mix back there, but I can’t imagine that anyone else can drop a long ball on a dime like Mix can. Bradley sometimes can but usually overhits. I also understand JK wanting a #10 with an engine, especially when playing two strikers.

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      • Disagree, Bradley serves long balls very well, Mix is more likely to make good, short, little passes and he does dribble in tight spaces better than Bradley.

      • Also had the sense Jurgen’s trying to force-feed the notion into Mix that he needs to be more of a two-way player. When your ultimate goal is an attack-minded 4-3-3 that high-presses, what you essentially need is three central-type midfielders who tuck in, and then you get your width from your outside forwards and wingbacks, and you really don’t have “holding” or “attacking” mids, per se…as a coach myself, my feeling was that Klinsmann was forcing both Bradley and Mix into inverse roles from their “natural” positions to try to alter their natural tendencies a bit. He wants Baby Bradley to be more offensive-minded; he wants Mix to track back and play both ways for 90 minutes, not just be nifty on the ball. I found it especially telling he made Mix play 89 minutes even though he was – for the second straight game – dogging it hard towards the end; in Klinsi-speak that much appeared to be a typical Germanic object lesson. Which was: get stronger…and here’s why ya gotta.

        Thought Bedoya looked good…but I’ve been less than sold on Zusi of late; Brazil looked like a field too far for him and he’s been in so-so form for SKC as well since the World Cup. Also, Rimando wasn’t terrible, but some of his distribution and decision-making was a little…off. Don’t think he closed any ground on Guzan tonight.

        Garza’s been a revelation the last three games, though. Between him and Robbie Rogers – who I think would have already gotten a call if LA Galaxy wasn’t in the middle of the Supporter Shield race, all of a sudden, could it be, the USMNT actually has DEPTH at left back?

      • I’m thinking the same thing. The only thing holding us back from the 4-3-3 right now is Deuce. Not criticizing Deuce here, just noting that when he’s not on the field we go 4-3-3.

        When Deuce is on the field he’s gotta play the 2nd striker role, which makes placing Bradley, Mix, Bedoya, and JJ difficult.

      • Yup. Pretty clear what Jurgen wants from his wings/outside forwards…speed, and guys who can track the opposition’s wingback when he surges forward. That ain’t Deuce’s bag. You stick Deuce high left in a 4-3-3 and the opposition’s right back is going to get free reign to go surging up the flanks all night.

        Be interesting to see how much longer Klinsmann carries Deuce – at least as a starter – if he’s sincere about transitioning to the 4-3-3. I’d suspect at some point in the very near future Deuce’s starts will give way to true wingers like Joe Gyau and Julian Green (and, if we get him in 2015 as speculated, Darlington Nagbe) and the 4-3-3 will be on in earnest. Also expect we’ll see a cattle call for CM’s…we’re having to replace Beckerman and Jones (at CM, anyhow), Zusi is not impressing overly, and neither Morales nor Corona showed much these last couple games.

      • And with young CMs like Trapp, Gil, and Hyndman waiting in the wings it’s going to be interesting to see if Mix can maintain

      • Doesn’t it? It’s pretty clear he intentionally forced them to switch positions. I don’t think I have ever seen a coach quite do that in a game. Even a basically meaningless one. I guess Jurgen has been reading his Bertolt Brecht.

        Greg Garza has been excellent.

      • You feel like if Jozy is replaced, and I can’t wait to hear who you think should replace him, all our problems would be solved?

        We looked like a squad playing a meaningless friendly.

      • I’m curious what you see in Boyd’s game that makes you think he can replace Jozy. Is the purely backup quarterback syndrome?

      • Terrence is big and strong with a great ability to hold the ball up. In addition, he fights hard to win 50/50 balls, something that Jozy doesn’t typically do. He also goes up aggressively for headers, something that Jozy also doesn’t do. Lastly, he can use his laces to crack a shot, something which Jozy doesn’t typically do. Jozy did a great job trapping the ball off his chest last night, great first move to beat the defender and then put the ball away, but I think he may have actually mis-hit the shot.

  7. I don’t place too much blame on diskerud for the goal. The U.S was sloppy the whole 2nd half. Jones will be too old klinsmann will learn that eventually. Aside from him the MLS guys were meh.

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