World Cup Qualifier Recap: U.S. Vs. Jamaica Part 1
By Doug Smith
As fans awaited the starting lineups the crowd was slow to arrive in Kingston. The starting lineup seemed to showcase a diamond in the midfield and two strikers up front. Still there seemed to be a defensive posture and thoughts of former coach Bob Bradley starting defensive minded players all the time crept in. Jamaica would counter with just three in the back. The starters for the United States were:
Howard; Parkhurst, Goodson, Cameron, Johnson; Jones, Beckerman, Edu, Dempsey; Altidore, Gomez
The idea of the home field being “The Office” and the U.S. just looking to settle in quickly vanished. It vanished 36 seconds into the match as Clint Dempsey put home an easy one after the hard work of Herculez Gomez paid off muscling out a defender. It was Dempsey’s first match since June, his eighth World Cup Qualifier tally, and third straight qualifier where he scored. He also broke his own record for fastest goal in a qualifier by 17 seconds.
May 30, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; USA forward Herculez Gomez (9) chases down the ball against Brazil during the first half of a men
Then the defensive match began. The U.S. was keeping their formation extremely narrow. They were controlling possession including Michael Parkhurst nutmegging Luton Shelton on the opposite side of the U.S. goal. The passing was not crisp but it was enough to keep Jamaica from threatening. The first attempt at goal for the Reggae Boyz came about 13 minutes in and sailed way over the netting. Jamaica upped its physical play as the crowd finally filled the stands, but on turnovers they were often retreating, not attacking.
At the 20th minute the game was in the United States’ control but there was no flow. Jermaine Jones was overlapping on the right. The rest of the midfield diamond knocked it back and forth to each other until possession was lost. Gomez was easy to spot all over the pitch, but this was becoming the norm. However, all it takes is something small to change the pace of a game. Kyle Beckerman was called for a foul giving Jamaica a free kick from 25 yards out. Rodolph Austin struck it neatly and managed to keep it on the ground to find a corner past time Howard. The match was tied as the U.S. wall looked a bit disorganized. The shot may have taken a deflection off Beckerman.
The moment swung quickly after the goal and the seven players leaving the narrow field for Jamaica. They were now in control. There was no possession for the United States and the absence of Michael Bradley was easily recognized. Jones and Maurice Edu were struggling on the ball and there was no attack to use Gomez and Jozy Altidore. Jamaica was dominating. No one could get the ball to Altidore. Dempsey had to go deep into the box to threaten off a Parkhurst cross. The formation and tactic said the U.S. needed to pressure up the pitch but they were sitting back. It was a dichotomy of tactics and action. The match would head to halftime at 1-1.
There were no changes to begin the second half. The physical play continued as Jamaica had 10 fouls and counting. Shelton and Howard collided just outside the box as Howard cleared a long ball requiring some treatment for the U.S. goalkeeper. The first substitution came in the 58th minute as Danny Williams came on for Beckerman. This appearance cap-tied Williams to the United States. Immediately after the substitution, Jermaine Jones provided the comic relief by whiffing on a pass. Unfortunately, he got stepped on trying to recover, but it was not a yellow card.
With Jones slowly coming back, Jamaica capitalized to take the lead in the match and potentially the group. Shelton scored in the 63rd minute off another free kick. This time it was curled in from 20 yards out after Edu was called for a foul taking down Austin. The leader in goals for Jamaica had added another and just to add more pace to their side, substitute Darren Mattocks came on before the ball was put back in play.
The U.S. made two more substitutions in the 72nd minute to try to capture the equalizer. Brek Shea and Terrence Boyd would come into the game for Edu and Altidore. Altidore saw no service and was invisible because of it although he tried to track back on defense. There would be some more possession although Jones earned his 6th yellow in nine matches in the 78th minute with his squad still down one.
In the end it was narrow play without possession for the United States and a lack of pressure through the middle. The set piece defending was poor. Many will question the wall jumping on the first goal. It was only the second time that Jamaica had scored twice on the United States. The questions of consistency remain. The match on Tuesday is now a must win match. Most would think the lineup will change.
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