Gio Reyna, Pepi, Robinson Applauded by USMNT Fans in Win vs. Trinidad and Tobago

It took 81 minutes, a Noah Powder sending-off and more aimless crosses and scuffed shots than one could count. But finally, mercifully, Ricardo Pepi bailed out the USMNT on Thursday night in the Nations League quarterfinals.

His 82nd minute goal broke the dam for the United States in what was ultimately a 3-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, giving them a three-goal advantage in aggregate in the two-leg matchup between the countries.

Given the USMNT's struggles to create viable chances up until that point against a Trinidad and Tobago side that unabashedly parked the bus and refused to move, Pepi's opening tally felt more like a reprieve than a celebration.

But joy would follow. Antonee Robinson's wonder-strike just four minutes later—and his subsequent back flips to celebrate the moment—was a thing of pure beauty.

And when Gio Reyna added a third, the job was well and truly done.

So those three players earned the plaudits on social media after the conversation, and justifiably so:

But there is a deeper conversation to be had about Thursday's game. The United States solved the puzzle eventually, yes, but for long stretches they seemed so hapless and aimless while shuffling the pieces.

The first half, to put it kindly, was a slog:

And that comes back to Gregg Berhalter's tactics, as always. At home, up and goal and facing an inferior opponent in Trinidad and Tobago, yes, the United States found the goals they needed before the road rematch in this quarterfinal.

Such conditions won't be the norm, of course. Tougher opponents won't allow the United States 75.6 percent of possession, or be held to a single shot while the United States peppers them with 26 shots of their own (eight on target) and a 10-0 advantage in corners.

Sure, breaking down an opponent that sits in a deep, compact block is never easy, and the United States was without its best player, Christian Pulisic, on Thursday.

But there remains the feeling that the United States does precisely what is supposed to do—in this case, beating an overmatched and eventually undermanned Trinidad and Tobago—and nothing more. No overachieving, no handling business without fraying nerves.

Perhaps that's splitting hairs after a win. But ask most USMNT fans what their takeaway from Thursday's match was and it would probably be some variation of, "Took them long enough."

That ultimately falls on Berhalter. Don't be deceived by the late goals from Pepi, Robinson and Reyna—this was not a relaxing evening for the USMNT.

But it should have been.