A golazo from Sergino Dest and a second-half tally from Brenden Aaronson were the catalysts as the US men's national team took a 4-1 victory in their friendly against Concacaf adversary Jamaica in Wiener Neustadt, Austria on Thursday.
LA Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget had both of the other goals from the US, striking for a late brace to provide separation after Jamaica found their lone goal of the match courtesy of Swansea City forward Jamal Lowe.
Dest got the first of the match for the US with a legitimate stunner, collecting the ball near midfield and making a charging run before unleashing a perfectly placed shot from distance that curled into the net in the 34th minute. Aaronson added the second in the 53rd after entering the match as a second-half substitute for Christian Pulisic, finishing off a point-blank look off a feed from forward Josh Sargent.
The Reggae Boyz would strike back in the 70th-minute though, as Lowe cut the lead in half with a well-taken chipped goal, spoiling the clean sheet for current Manchester City and former Columbus Crew SC goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
The US pushed for an insurance goal after Lowe's tally, and wound up getting two before the final whistle, as Lletget struck twice in a seven-minute span starting in the 83rd minute to round out the 4-1 final.
Goals
34' - US - Sergino Dest | WATCH
53' - US - Brenden Aaronson | WATCH
70' - JAM - Jamal Lowe | WATCH
83' - US - Sebastian Lletget | WATCH
90' - US - Sebastian Lletget | WATCH
Three Things:
THE BIG PICTURE: It was just a friendly, but the match provided head coach Gregg Berhalter a good look at his player pool as they look to develop cohesion before this summer's Gold Cup and the start of World Cup Qualifying in the fall, against an opponent that they might have to face in each of those competitions. All told, the 70th-minute concession was really the only blip on a positive performance from the group, as the US outshot Jamaica 27-9 while controlling almost 70 percent of the possession for the match.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It's easily the opener from Dest, which was the culmination of a stellar all-around individual effort and the first international goal from the talented Barcelona man.
