USA vs Trinidad and Tobago World Cup Qualifier
by Capt'n America ~ September 9th, 2009.
Leading up to this game, the US players were saying all the right things. This was a big game in the CONCACAF Hexagonal because the standings are so very close. Only 1 point separated the teams from 1st to 4th places (they need to be in the top 3 to automatically qualify). So the USA’s chance of going to South Africa in 10 months are still very much undecided. And the players were calling it a must win.
But actions speak louder than words and the US was not playing like they wanted it, especially in the first 45 minutes of the game. It’s hard to understand exactly why our team looked so lackadaisical. Maybe it was the cool ocean breezes blowing across the pitch from the Caribbean. Maybe it was the cute little umbrellas in their lunchtime beverages. But by the way the team played, they must have been thinking about something else.
The USA was very much content to play behind the ball and it really looked like they were playing for a draw. Trinidad and Tobago were also content to lay back and hit the USA on the counter-attack. That, mixed with the thousands of empty seats in Hasely Crawford Stadium, was not a recipe for a very exciting game.
It took until the 29th minute and a chip off the crossbar from Cordell Glen to wake up our boys (setup by a throw-in of all things). After dodging that bullet, Jozy Altidore would charge up the middle of the field, carrying a T&T player on his back, and launched a rocket at the opposite end. But the keeper did well to deflect it.
Even after halftime, the USA didn’t look that different. But just as Bob Bradley was preparing to make a substitution, Landon Donovan, who was our best player on the field once again, would make a strong move down the left side and cut a ball back to the top of the box for Ricardo Clark who would bury it. Clark hit a bending shot around a defender that curled away from the keeper into the right corner. A nice piece of soccer in an otherwise uninspiring game.
But job done and the USA gets 3 points on the road. Now they have to hope for a draw between Honduras (their next match) and Mexico (who are playing the best football in the group). I hope the US come back feeling recharged and refreshed after their island vacation. Our work is far from over.
Category: US Soccer, World Cup Qualifying | Tags: