Rainy, Sluggish Start to WC Qualifying
By Doug Smith
The weather in Florida was not that pretty most of the day today as the rain fell steadily. The play on the pitch was just as ugly despite the United States earning a 3-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda. A 2-0 lead at halftime grew into a more tense second half. The next qualifier is Tuesday against Guatemala, but tonight’s match was not much to grow on.
For the USMNT, the starters were a bit of a question with Fabian Johnson and Edgar Castillo injured. The left back position has not been a safe position. Here is what coach Jurgen Klinsmann sent out at the start.
Howard; Cherundolo, Goodson, Bocanegra (capt.), Torres; Edu, Bradley, Jones; Donovan, Dempsey, Gomez
Jose Torres would start at left back and not last all game as he would suffer a left ankle contusion from a hard tackle. That was the initial word, but he would go for x-rays after the match and the outlook did not sound favorable.
The weather was rough at the start. This was the third straight day of rain and the look on the players’ faces at the opening lineup showed some trepidation. This is the farthest that Antigua and Barbuda have gone in World Cup qualifying and they faced a stiff test, so perhaps the weather was in their favor. ESPN gave us a nice interlude on the World Cup and everyone was anticipating an easy victory.
The match started with a long ball toward Clint Dempsey from Jermaine Jones in searching fashion. As rain pounded down there was early possession from the United States around a wide attempt from Quinton Griffith of Antigua. Maurice Edu and Michael Bradley were switching back and forth between midfield positions as Klinsmann looked for urgency. On the second corner kick for the U.S., Carlos Bocanegra tapped home a deflected header from Gomez. Gomez came back to the ball and Bocanegra had just got back up from tying his shoe and limping from the previous corner.
A few more corners and skill shown by Bradley and Clint Dempsey would be the story of the next ten minutes. Antigua and Barbuda was almost playing a bend but don’t break defense as the U.S. would get near the box and see a last minute saving tackle or a blocked shot for a corner. Tackles became heavy as Antigua and Barbuda looked for moments to capitalize.
Possession favored the United States by a large margin but they would get fancy with quick passing or trying to beat defenders. Donovan would continue to hit good service balls off of set pieces, mainly looking for Clarence Goodson as the big target on the pitch. Yet, at the 30th minute it was still 1-0 and the idea of urgency that Klinsmann had stressed seemed fleeting. Dempsey attracted a box defense around him while Edu did not seem to have a plan when he received the ball. There were no attempts at long range shots, no long passes.
The tackles became more dangerous from Antigua. However, the Benna Boys would finally gain possession in the 36th minute and threaten with a shot just inside the 18 from Dexter Blackstock. Goodsen would dive to black the shot. This would be the start of a series of interesting plays to end the half. Bocanegra would go off bloodied and a swing in possession would lead to a penalty kick. A turnover from high pressure by Antiqua would start an attack. Dempsey and Donovan would exchange passes from the midfield sending Donovan running into the box. He would be dragged down and Dempsey would bury the PK right from where the keeper vacated. 2-0 at halftime.
The United States had eight more shots, They had nine corners to none. Yet there was mainly possession without a threat. It seemed like everyone on the pitch wanted to make the perfect pass creating too many extra touches. Then in the 54th minute Torres would go down as he made a tackle and was stepped on rolling his ankle. He was in obvious pain and stretchered off. It was a trend of uninspiring and unfortunate play. This would include a substitution that brought in Oguchi Onyewu.
There would be a glimmer of hope in the midst of the unfortunate as Bocanegra’s switch to left back led to a shot by Gomez off the bar. Then Bradley would find the ball and send one to the front that somehow stayed out. However, when the leading scorer for Antiqua, Peter Byers, would check in the second real chance of the game for those in the yellow kits would result in a goal.
Onyewu would take a horrible angle to a pass that Byers would flip to himself. Byers then beat Onyewu around the ball and finished smoothly over top of Tim Howard. The game was on and our call for Onyewu to be off the pitch was more credible. It was poor positioning 25 yards out from the keeper. Cherundolo was beat over the top on a counter, but the play by Gooch was sloppy. Byers made an immediate impact and so did his hair cut.
Finally in the 70th minute balls were fired at the net from distance by the United States. It led to a few corners with Gomez getting his head on a bouncing ball only to see Molvin James push it over the crossbar for his seventh save of the night. Two minutes later Gomez would follow the bounces threw the box only to find a yawning net to deposit the third and final goal for the United States. It was a good response to the goal from Byers. Donovan’s run off the ball started most of the action for a good five minute stretch.
So they got the victory, but it wasn’t in the fashion that could be described as urgent. The field was sloppy, but so was the play. The ten minutes of play after the 70th minute showed what this team could have done. Unfortunately they had to be scored upon to show it. Gomez, Donovan, and Goodsen were the best on the pitch.
The Torres injury probably means that Bocanegra starts at left back if Fabian Johnson is unfit. The rest of the lineup should remain very similar for the next qualifier on Tuesday. Jozy Altidore and Terrence Boyd were used as substitutes late in the match. Boyd is now cap tied to the U.S. and cannot play for any other country (Germany).
It was not what was expected, but it was a win. Time to move on to get three more points next week.