Pseudo Corner Kick

I have recovered enough emotionally and mentally to write about the game yesterday. We all know what happen, the US played crappy in the first half but fought back in the second half and scored two goals in the last eight or so minutes to win the game. Onyewu scored the game winner of a free kick in extra time. My boy JOB was at the right place to score the game tying goal.

The crowd was at least 95% Honduran (not including the second game fans). At first we sat alone, without Sam’s Army, but it was too much to handle. We were surrounded by Hondurans with no way out. We joined Sam’s Army for the second half, but their numbers were pretty dissapointing. It was the worst showing by american supporters that I have ever seen, but those of us that went had to have some balls to stand up and chear. It could have been that the game was at 6:00 and most regular people are still getting home from work, except day laborers who probably just took the day off. The line to get tickets was very long, the Honduran fans were very annoying but the game was insane. I can’t believe USA won, I’m still in shock.

The ref sucked, Prendergast threw the Bruce out for arguing and watched as Pablo and Pope got cleaned out. The worst was when the goalie slid taclked Beasley, missing the ball and dropping him in the box. Easily could have been a foul, but no.

We got some love in the media. Sportscenter had an actual minute of highlights, showing not only the goals but the near misses. It also ranked Onyewu’s goal as the fifth top play of the day. New York Times gave the game a panel on the fourth page.

It was great to see the crowd silenced when we started scoring goals. For those of us at the game, it is an experience that will not be forgotten. If I remember more I’ll update….

Onyewu scores in the 90th to send the US through to the Gold Cup finals!
Stay tuned for first hand match report from Bobby and David who attended the game

The US has moved up to sixth in the FIFA rankings! See also here. Germany jumped 10 spots!
Congrats to Bruce and the team!

Steve Cherundolo is out until September with a MCL sprain.

Better than an ACL tear.

“Get well, get well soon, we want you to get well…”

In CONCACAF Gold Cup action on Sunday, Colombia knocked out defending champions Mexico 2-1 in Houston.

The game winner was an absolutely amazing (lucky?) shot by Abel Aguilar.

Here are the 3 goals from the game. Aguilar’s goal is the fourth link listed, and a replay of the goal is the fifth link.

BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT!

The USMNT moved into the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals on Saturday by beating Jamaica 3-1 in Foxboro. DaMarcus Beasley scored a brace after Josh Wolff had put the U.S. up 1-0.

Bruce Arena’s staring XI were the players that most had anticipated starting, but the formation he used was not. The pregame lineup and most match reports looked like this:

3-4-3
———–Keller
-Conrad-Onyewu-Vanney
———-Mastroeni
Cherundolo——–O’Brien
———-Donovan
-Ralston–Wolff–Beasley

But to me it looked more like a 3-5-2:

———-Keller
-Conrad-Onyewu-Vanney
–Cherundolo-Mastroeni
Ralston–Donovan–O’Brien
—–Wolff—-Beasley

Either way, it was not the usual 4-4-2 that Arena uses, with Cherundolo in the midfield (and possibly Steve Ralston pushing so far forward) as the biggest change.

The U.S. controlled most of the first half and got a goal within 6 minutes. A short corner (frequently used by the U.S. today) knocked around in the box for a bit before a Beasley shot was redirected by Wolff into the net. Literally a minute later, Greg Vanney committed a foul inside his own box for a penalty kick. Kasey Keller knocked away a rather weak spot kick from Jamaican/Real Salt Lake midfielder Andy Williams. From then till the end of the half, the U.S. owned possession and was finally rewarded 3 minutes from half when a sweet Landon Donovan through ball found Beasley, whose first touch buried the ball in the back of the net. Unfortunately for the U.S., Steve Cherundolo was cleaned out midway through the first half by a Jamaican defender and had to be subbed off.

The second half was much more hectic as the U.S. couldn’t kill off a 2-0 lead and often lost possession/squandered chances. Matters were complicated when subsitute Ben Olsen received a straight red for taking down Williams at the top of the box when there was noone else between him and the goalie. Luckily, the resulting free kick rang off the post and the U.S. escaped harm. Jamaica also went down to 10 men when Jermaine Taylor was sent off for a vicious tackle against Beasley in front of the U.S. bench. The U.S. got a third goal when some hard work by sub Chris Armas was finished off by Beasley. Ricardo Fuller scored one for Jamaica with 3 minutes left after a Vanney give away.

The U.S. played its best match of the tournament so far, partly because it finally had its best players on the pitch. The Bruce formed a game plan, the U.S. stuck to it, and dominated the Jamaicans. Unfortunately, the increasingly nasty play led to an injured U.S. player. Cherundolo is awaiting an MRI, but it is thought to be a sprained MCL, although a torn ACL (much worse) is possible.

The U.S. meets Honduras (3-2 winners over Costa Rica) in the semifinals on Thursday at Giants Stadium at 6 pm.

The USMNT plays Jamaica in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday at 4 pm in Foxboro. Win or go home time for the U.S., who must step up their play if they look to advance.

GREAT interview with Bruce Arena regarding the Gold Cup. Nice insight from The Bruce on John O’Brien, Chris Armas, and Tony Sanneh. A MUST READ!

Went on sale today. I already put in for my tickets. What about you??

Whether we have mathematically qualified already or not, surely the biggest match of the hexagonal.

U.S. vs Mexico…September 3rd in Columbus…don’t miss it…

First, I just wanted to compliment your Gold Cup posts. They have been really good and informative, especially since I have not been able to get the games. Do you think maybe they have been lackluster because they are not really into as much as they would be if it were a qualifier?
Also, I thought I would throw this out there for discussion since I have not had a post in a while: In regards to the probable return of hockey, John Miller at National Review writes:”There may be some rule changes to create more scoring, and that’s probably a good idea. But if it hasn’t already happened, the day will soon come when soccer is considered our country’s fourth major professional sport.” Aside from the wisdom of tinkering with the rules just to generate ‘excitement’, I was curious what everyone thought about this idea of soccer becoming one of the big four. I think soccer ranks as the largest participation sport among kids, and at some point, shouldn’t that translate into increased interest in the sport (among both the kids as they grow older and their parents)?

Now that the first round is over I’d like to comment on the overall picture. The team generally was so-so in the back and pretty sad on offense. JOB is doing alright for himself and getting back into the game, I like how Ralston has looked, good crosses. Cherundolo did well as did Donovan, Dempsey, Noonan, Vanney, Pablo, Keller, Pope and Gooch. Sanneh looks very iffy, I don’t know what his deal is. Maybe he will come around. Chris Armas is good at stopping the other teams attack but he can’t pass the ball once he has it. Ben Olsen, well he’s done OK, but he’s Ben Olsen. Overall it wasn’t that good of a round but USA still came out on top. Now hopefully we can lock it down in the back and finish some of our chances!
Josh Simpson