Saturday, June 19, 2010

Well...........That Was Interesting

Anybody still looking for an exciting match at the world cup? The USA goes down two goals in a first half where their play makes me question whether they would have gotten a result against D.C. United but rallies back to get the tie. Some variation of that will be the headline. But there was much, much more.

The USA came out of the locker room with renewed vigor and playing like they understood that their chances rested on the next 45 minutes. In the 48th minute Landon Donovan blasted a shot past the Slovenia keeper to draw to within one goal. After going back and forth for the next 30 plus minutes Michael Bradley scored the tying goal. Three minutes later things became very interesting.

Off a free kick in the 86th minute Landon Donovan lined up and put in a wonderful ball that a streaking Maurice Edu put in the back of the net. The following two minutes went like this:

Darrell: "Edu SCORES!" Co-workers look on with confusion.
Darrell: "WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING!" More dirty looks from co-workers.
Darrell: "We just got screwed!" Co-workers look on utterly confused.

The head ref whistled the play dead. The play that would have finished a miraculous comeback was disallowed on a presumed offsides call. But the assistant referee's flag was down. The head ref saw something. What that was, no one seems to know. On replay it seems like there was more cause for a whistle and penalty kick against Slovenia instead of a USA foul.

After the match USA players and coaches asked the ref, some politely and some I can only assume with a slightly raised voice, and received no clear answer. In an interview after the match both Bob Bradley and Donovan lamented the refs call and confirmed that they were never told what the call was by any official.

So 2-2 was the final. What does this mean, well it means that everything comes down to Wednesday when the USA HAS TO WIN. There is no doubt about it. To survive, to make this a successful world cup they have to win. If they win and do not make it, well at least we will have something to talk about on this blog for a long time.

What Went Wrong:
1. The first half. The entirety of the first half went wrong. Only allowing more goals would have made it worse. Watching the difference in the play of the two teams literally made me mad. It was night and day between the two squads.

2. The refereeing. I am not a blame it on the ref guy. But I hope he has a very good explanation and has sound reasoning for his foul call. No matter how bad the USA played in the first half they did enough to win the match. They scored three goals and the referee took one off the board. I hope for his and FIFA's reputation he was right. Couple that with the bogus yellow card on Robbie Findley that rules him out of the next match means the referee had a very bad day.

3. Starting Jose Torres. I like the kid a lot but he was just not crisp and not ready. He looked nervous and timid. He needed time to gain some confidence in a match where that was not possible. It happens to everyone but that probably rules him out of the match against Algeria and maybe the rest of the tournament. You do not get many chances in the world cup and he may have missed his today.

4. Oguchi Onyewu was not good today. He just did not get it done on the whole and looked extremely slow in the first half. Failing to step up contributed to the second Slovenian goal. He has to be better and will have a day less recovery time before the Algeria match. Should he start?

What Went Right:
1. Subbing in Maurice Edu. Of the three subs, Edu made the most of his time. He was crisp and covered a lot of ground, often covering for Carlos Bocanegra when he went forward. And there was the matter of the ball he put in the back of the net. Did Edu do enough today to push Clark out of the line up?

2. Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, the stars of the team, came to play. Both were the best players on the field for the Americans. Donovan's goal was extremely impressive. My knock on Donovan has always been that he rarely goes go for it. From that angle in that moment he needed too, and it worked out in his team's favor. Keep that attitude Landon.

3. The draw. Yes I think it should have been a win but a draw keeps them alive and a draw sets up a favorable set of matches. England will need to come through for the Americans and they should as they are a better side than Slovenia. The USA will match up with an Algerian team they should beat. Of course I thought they should beat Slovenia but was wrong on that. No matter what, the good thing today is that they are still alive.

With England's draw against Algeria it is very simple for the Americans. Win and your chances of going through are great. A draw, and you need some help from Slovenia. A loss and the tournament is a failure and this ref is an instant villian to U.S. soccer fans.

Let me know your thoughts. Was the ref right? Does the play in the first half detract from your disdain for the call/ref? What do you think happens in this group? What do you think of the refereeing in the match? Who starts in central midfield against Algeria?

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