Bob Bradley has earned a reputation for being conservative and
unimaginative during his time atop the U.S. national soccer
team.
Kevin Baxter and Tim Leonard, McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON
Bob Bradley has earned a reputation for being conservative and unimaginative during his time atop the U.S. national soccer team.
But Sunday, facing one of the sternest tests in his five years as coach, Bradley rolled the dice and came up huge, with the U.S. beating Jamaica, 2-0, in Washington D.C., to advance to Gold Cup semifinals.
The Americans struggled to score in pool play, failing to win their group for the first time in tournament history. Yet Bradley responded by benching Landon Donovan, the most prolific scorer in U.S. history, and starting a formation heavy in the midfield.
And it was a gamble that worked beautifully, with relentless pressure by the U.S. paying off in second-half goals by Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey.
“We just played good football,” Dempsey said. “We were patient. We were confident. We moved the ball around well.”
The U.S., hoping to play a possession game, lined up five midfielders and four defenders, with Sacha Kljestan joining the midfield along with Alejandro Bedoya, who started in place of Donovan.
“Bob really wanted us to be a team today that kept the ball the whole game, kept it moving,” Kljestan said. “So I was just trying to find those spots and those gaps. And it worked well.
“We kept the ball for long periods and it really tired them out.”
Not that everything worked perfectly. The U.S. lost its lone forward, Jozy Altidore, in the 12th minute with a strained left hamstring. And after a scoreless first half marked by great goalkeeping, it took a significant stroke of good fortune for the Americans to break the tie four minutes after the intermission.
That play started with Jones getting off a hard shot from just outside the penalty area. Jamaican keeper Donovan Ricketts moved over to make the save, but teammate Jermaine Taylor’s foot got their first, deflecting the ball past his diving keeper into the net.
The goal was the first Jamaica allowed in the tournament and the first in international play for the 29-year-old Jones.
Less than 20 minutes later, Taylor and Jones tangled again and again Jones came out the winner when Taylor was given a red card for a rough tackle, forcing Jamaica to play the final 25 minutes shorthanded.
The U.S. exploited that advantage in the 80th minute when Juan Agudelo, Altidore’s replacement, found Clint Dempsey with a perfect cross to the left of goal. Ricketts came out to challenge but Dempsey deftly avoided the keeper and tapped the ball into the empty net, sending the U.S. into Wednesday’s semifinal rematch with Panama riding a new wave of confidence.
“As we’ve gone on we’ve progressed as a team and we’re on this momentum, we’re getting better,” Dempsey said. “I think we’re going to peak at the right time.”
Panama advanced by beating El Salvador on penalty kicks in what was clearly the best match of the tournament to date. Trailing 1-0 with 20 seconds left in regulation time, Panama tied the game when Salvadoran keeper Miguel Montes was ruled to be on the wrong side of the goal line when he stopped a shot from Luis Tejada.
Both keepers came up huge in the overtime, but the biggest save came in the shootout when Panama’s Jaime Penedo blocked a try from Dennis Alas with his foot, sending Panama on to the next round against the U.S, a team it beat in group play.
———————————-
That Mexico advanced to the semifinals of the Gold Cup came as no surprise. But how El Tri moved on certainly wasn’t according to plan.
Tiny Guatemala scored in the fifth minute and had hopes that it could play 85 minutes of defense. That dream was spoiled by two second-half goals, as Mexico finally found its form for a 2-1 victory Saturday night.
Mexico forward Javier Hernandez, who recently finished a brilliant debut campaign for Manchester United, scored the deciding goal in the 66th minute. Pablo Barrera delivered a short cross from the right side and “Chicharito” knocked it in from close range. It was his tournament-high sixth goal.
Mexico will face Honduras in the semifinals Wednesday at Reliant Stadium in Houston. That match will kick off at 6 p.m. EDT as the first game of a doubleheader. The second game, scheduled for 9 p.m., will feature the winners of Sunday’s matches at RFK Stadium. The U.S. plays Jamaica and El Salvador faces Panama.
Honduras finally defeated Costa Rica, 4-2 in penalty kicks, in the first game. The teams were tied, 1-1, after 90 minutes of regulation and another 30 of overtime. Costa Rica sealed its fate by twice hitting the crossbar in the penalty-kick shootout.
Much of the sellout crowd of 78,807 was at New Meadowlands Stadium to see Mexico. The El Tri fans filled the stands with a sea of green jerseys and generated plenty of noise, even during warmups.
But Mexico gave them little to cheer about in the first half. And Guatemala silenced them just five minutes into the match.
Elias Enoc Vasquez served a speculative pass over the top of the Mexico defense, but it connected with Carlos Ruiz. The forward, who plays for the Philadelphia Union, maneuvered around Mexico defender Hector Moreno and scooped a shot over goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera, stunning the crowd into near-silence.
Guatemala immediately went into defensive mode after the goal. At times, the Guatemalans appeared to be playing a 6-3-1 formation, with as many as nine defenders in the penalty area. It gave Mexico little room to work in the offensive zone.
Mexico finally cracked the code in the second half. A cross from Barrera caused a scramble in front of the Guatemala goal. A header by Hector Moreno was saved and a second shot was blocked off the line by Guatemala defender Carlos Gallardo before Aldo De Nigris finally slammed it in to tie the score at 1.
The first game was played at a decidedly slower pace. The Hondurans took the lead in the 49th minute after Javier Portillo forced a turnover and moved into the Costa Rica penalty area. His shot was saved by Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares, but caromed to Jerry Bengston for an easy goal. Costa Rica got on the board in the 56th minute, when Dennis Marshall headed in a corner kick from Cristian Bolanos.
