US-Mexico: A Running Diary

By Mark Goodman

February 11, 2009

Lineups - USA: 1-Tim Howard; 2-Frankie Hejduk, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.), 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 15-Heath Pearce; 8-Clint Dempsey, 4-Michael Bradley, 16-Sacha Kljestan (13-Ricardo Clark, 86), 7-DaMarcus Beasley; 10-Landon Donovan, 11-Brian Ching (9-Jozy Altidore, 83)

Subs not used: 18-Brad Guzan, 6-Jonathan Bornstein, 14-Danny Califf, 17-Jose Francisco Torres, 12-Marvell Wynne

Head Coach: Bob Bradley

MEXICO: 1-Oswaldo Sanchez; 2-Aaron Galindo, 3-Carlos Salcido, 4-Rafael Marquez (capt.), 5-Ricardo Osorio; 6-Leandro Augusto, 12-Alberto Medina (15-Antonio Naelson, 60), 8-Pavel Pardo; 11-Carlos Ochoa, 10-Nery Castillo (14-Israel Martinez, 34), 17-Giovani dos Santos (9-Omar Bravo, 72)

Subs not used: 13-Guillermo Ochoa, 18-Leobardo Lopez, 7-Luis Perez, 16-Guillermo Franco

Head Coach: Sven-Goran Eriksson

It appears to be cold and exceptionally wet in Columbus. ESPN sideline reporter Pedro Gomez tells us Mexico coach Sven Goran-Eriksson compared the weather tonight to being in Albania.

�Albania, Columbus - maybe they�re sister cities,� Gomez says. We�re off to a flying start here.

Beasley is getting a start tonight for the US, which is interesting considering he can�t even get in a game for Rangers. But, the same logic apparently hasn�t deterred Sven from naming dos Santos of Tottenham fame to his starting XI.

1st minute - And we�re off. The U.S. connect on three straight passes, and John Harkes proclaims this is �already a good start.� Our standards are a little different than, say, Argentina (but about the same as England).

2� - Hejduk, starting in place of Steve Cherundolo, gets his first touch. Good to see we haven�t produced a right back in about 30 years.

3� - Howard denies dos Santos from 10 yards out. Already a good start, indeed.

7� - Dempsey, playing on the right side of midfield, has a touch. I still like him better in a central role.

11� - Harkes and JP Dellacamera get into the US-Mexico rivalry, which gets me thinking about Landon Donovan. I�ve never been a big fan of his, but I really hope he makes it at Bayern Munich. If nothing else, it would bring a new level of respect to American soccer to have someone make it at a truly big club.

14� - Evidently, it�s 52 degrees in Columbus, but the wind and rain are monstrous. And Albania is still a country.

18� - Pearce has been active up and down the left flank so far. I�ve always run hot and cold with him, but he looks good so far tonight.

20� - There�s been a fair amount of fervor and gusto - as one would expect from a US-Mexico fixture - but little in the way of chances. The cutting pass in the final third has been lacking, thanks in part to a pair of well-organized defenses.

22� - Donovan rips a free kick wide from a dangerous position.

26� - Dempsey and Beasley are pinching in an awful lot, narrowing the field. Pearce is really the only one providing width for the Americans so far.

27� - Beasley gets the Americans� first shot on goal, easily saved by Sanchez.

31� - Dempsey nearly puts the U.S. on the board. Donovan headed down a Beasley cross from the left wing onto the path of the former Rev, who blasted a volley toward goal. Sanchez makes the save.

34� Nery Castillo - whom I thought, after seeing him shine in the Copa America in 2007, would be at a bigger club than Shaktar Donetsk by now - has pulled up lame and needs to come off. Israel Martinez comes on in his place.

36� - Medina gets off a decent shot from the left side of the box. Howard goes low for the stop.

43� GOAL!! (Bradley) Right before Beasley takes a corner, the cameras show Onyewu roaming rather freely in the box - intriguing, considering he�s 6-foot-4. Beasley gets ridiculous bend on a corner to the far post, and it�s headed back across the box by Donovan to Gooch. The Standard Liege defender is open and sends a header toward goal. Sanchez saves, but Bradley - also relatively unmarked - pounces on the rebound in the goal-mouth and puts it in. Sven will not be pleased with the marking there.

45� - It�s nearly 2-nil, as Bradley unlocks the Mexican defense with a cheeky little through ball to Beasley. Sanchez just gets to it before Beasley can get off a proper shot. Corner to the Yanks, but nothing comes of it.

Halftime - US 1, Mexico 0. It�s been a fairly even half, but the Americans took advantage of some dodgy set piece defending from El Tri. Bradley and Kljestan have been impressive in the middle and showing some versatility, with Bradley getting up in attack and Kljestan digging in on a couple tackles. Dos Santos has been dangerous for Mexico, but one wonders if he has the fitness right now to go the full 90. If he does, the Americans are far from out of the woods.

In the ESPN studio, former LA Galaxy General Manager Alexei Lalas says David Beckham �doesn�t want to be there� and MLS should �get as much money as they can (in a transfer) and get out.�

46� - The second half starts with no subs for either side. Gomez tells us Sven feels his team �played well for the most part.�

48� - Bradley nearly sends in Beasley with another glorious through ball, but Sanchez does well to come off his line and get to it first.

51� - I can�t recall a single thing Ching has done in this game. Another anonymous performance - how many chances is this guy going to get?

55� - Dos Santos just left Pearce in the dust, but his final touch goes a little too far and he can�t work in a good cross. The first blemish on an otherwise good match for the American left back.

60� - Sub for Mexico: Medina out, Antonio Naelson in.

65� - Well, it�s all gone off now. Martinez nearly (and probably should have) scored off a free kick, with some slack defending from the Americans leaving him wide open in the box. His shot comes off the post, and in the ensuing mish-mash, Marquez leaps into Howard as the U.S. keeper goes up to catch the ball. Referee Carlos Batres shows the Mexican captain a straight red for leading with his studs. Howard gets a yellow, presumably for saying something mean about Marquez�s mother.

72� - Mexico substitution: Omar Bravo comes in for dos Santos, who had a rather tepid second half in comparison to the first 45 minutes.

75� - The game has slowed down considerably. The U.S. appears content with its 1-0 lead, and the Mexicans have shown little in attack with dos Santos tiring. Ochoa has done absolutely nothing. Losing Nery Castillo to injury didn�t help and, to be fair, Mexico is without its best player to begin with, winger Andres Guardado.

79� - Wow, Norway beat Germany? Oh, and it�s a corner to Mexico. Osorio gets a shot on target, which Bocanegra knocks away.

83� - Sub for United States: Altidore comes in for Ching, about 83 minutes too late. Harkes says Ching was �solid� and �held the ball up well.� Sorry, I just didn�t see it tonight.

86� - U.S. substitution: Kljestan out, Clark in. Good performance from Kljestan tonight, I thought, and the way he and Bradley worked together in the middle of the pitch was delightful to see.

90� - There will be three minutes of added time.

90�+2 - GOAL!!! (Bradley) Bocanegra fires a long ball to Altidore in the center circle. Altidore, unlike Ching, does something productive with it, holding it up, shielding the defender and getting the ball up to Donovan before being scythed down. Donovan, on the left flank, passes across to Bradley, who fires it in from 22 yards out. Sanchez should have had it, but nonetheless a fitting cap to the night for Bradley.

FULL TIME - While it was an even first half, the U.S. were clearly better in the second. Marquez�s red card had something do with it, for sure, but this was a deserved victory.

Gomez concludes his postgame interview with Bradley by saying, �Michael, congratulations, you�re moving on to the next round.� Uh, what round would that be, Pedro?

MAN OF THE MATCH: Bradley. This was pretty easy. Even without the goals, he would be a contender, as he truly ran the show from his central midfield position.

REPORT CARD:

Tim Howard: A. Had to make a couple good saves early, and smoothly handled everything that came his way. Is he the next to wear the captain�s armband when Bocanegra retires from international football?

Frankie Hejduk: B. Solid defensively, and asserted himself in the attack in the second half.

Oguchi Onyewu: B. A nervy moment or two early on, but that�s Gooch.

Carlos Bocanegra: A-. Ochoa and Bravo were hardly heard from, and the Rennes defender was the biggest reason why.

Heath Pearce: B. Didn�t go forward nearly as much in the second half as in the first, but got the job done.

Clint Dempsey: B-. A good effort full of industry, if lacking in final product.

Sacha Kljestan: B+. Certainly didn�t have the same attacking presence he showed against Sweden, but turned in a good two-way performance and showed he can handle the central midfield position in a 4-4-2 setup.

DaMarcus Beasley: A-. A surprisingly vintage Beasley showing tonight with pace to burn. Provided the outlet in the final third that was lacking with Ching�s ineffectiveness.

Landon Donovan: B. For a 10-shirt, he wasn�t on the ball enough, but he was spot on when he was. Showed typically good distribution.

Brian Ching: D+. Enough. Please.

Jozy Altidore: B. Had a good impact in limited minutes. I still have to (or maybe just want to) believe he�ll be starting in South Africa.

Ricardo Clark: Incomplete. Not enough time to make an impact one way or the other.

Pedro Gomez: F. Residents of Tirana will be dismayed to know they no longer live in the capital of the country Albania, but rather a borough in the city of Albania.

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