(U.S. soccer fans pictured in photo below by Tony Quinn / isiphotos.com)
Second Half (start 8:14pm)
Strengths
-In the first minute of the second half Trinidad and Tobago already showed signs of changing their offense up. Within the first minute they already had a shot on goal and in the next minute had a corner kick and another shot on goal. Already an improvement from the first half. Trinidad and Tobago also changed from the first half by creating counterattacks with more than two people involved. They kept coming at the U.S. defense and it paid off with two corners within four minutes of the start of the second half. Although the Caribbean team made some significant offensive changes, they were going to need to keep hammering the U.S. defense if they wanted some score changes.
-The U.S. defense really played well in the second half despite gaining stiff legs in the second half. Steve Cherundolo really came up big in the 53rd minute by doing what all defenders are taught to do for a corner kick…stay on their post. He solely prevented a Trinidad and Tobago goal by getting in front of the ball that was headed behind U.S. goalie and into the corner of his goal. The sole goal that went into the back of the net was only one that was “scored” in the offside position. Only after the Trinidad and Tobago team and fans stopped celebrating did they notice the ref’s flag.
Weaknesses
-Almost no offense in the second half for the U.S. Although there was another goal and a couple other good runs, there wasn’t nearly as much offense in the Trinidad and Tobago defensive 3rd as there was in the first half. There were subs made in the second half, however the starting offensive threats for the U.S. were taken out only to be replaced by the equally capable non-starters. If the U.S. is going to be successful in upcoming games, they’re going to need to be able to count on their bench to come in and pick up the play of the tired players. They need to be able to rely on the depth of their bench and veteran players to get the job done.
-Trinidad and Tobago had a real inability to finish. They had numerous opportunities at scoring, however they could never put any away. The U.S. really let their opponents get a lot of good looks and luckily for the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago couldn’t capitalize.
Goals
-In the 56th minute the U.S. scored yet another goal this one on a ball crossed by Beasley. The goal was scored by Brian Ching who really played the cherry picking position; being able to get a foot on a ball that was bouncing around in the box. It was sloppy, but it was a goal and that’s all that mattered.
Second Half Final: United States 3 Trinidad and Tobago 0
Strengths
-In the first minute of the second half Trinidad and Tobago already showed signs of changing their offense up. Within the first minute they already had a shot on goal and in the next minute had a corner kick and another shot on goal. Already an improvement from the first half. Trinidad and Tobago also changed from the first half by creating counterattacks with more than two people involved. They kept coming at the U.S. defense and it paid off with two corners within four minutes of the start of the second half. Although the Caribbean team made some significant offensive changes, they were going to need to keep hammering the U.S. defense if they wanted some score changes.
-The U.S. defense really played well in the second half despite gaining stiff legs in the second half. Steve Cherundolo really came up big in the 53rd minute by doing what all defenders are taught to do for a corner kick…stay on their post. He solely prevented a Trinidad and Tobago goal by getting in front of the ball that was headed behind U.S. goalie and into the corner of his goal. The sole goal that went into the back of the net was only one that was “scored” in the offside position. Only after the Trinidad and Tobago team and fans stopped celebrating did they notice the ref’s flag.
Weaknesses
-Almost no offense in the second half for the U.S. Although there was another goal and a couple other good runs, there wasn’t nearly as much offense in the Trinidad and Tobago defensive 3rd as there was in the first half. There were subs made in the second half, however the starting offensive threats for the U.S. were taken out only to be replaced by the equally capable non-starters. If the U.S. is going to be successful in upcoming games, they’re going to need to be able to count on their bench to come in and pick up the play of the tired players. They need to be able to rely on the depth of their bench and veteran players to get the job done.
-Trinidad and Tobago had a real inability to finish. They had numerous opportunities at scoring, however they could never put any away. The U.S. really let their opponents get a lot of good looks and luckily for the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago couldn’t capitalize.
Goals
-In the 56th minute the U.S. scored yet another goal this one on a ball crossed by Beasley. The goal was scored by Brian Ching who really played the cherry picking position; being able to get a foot on a ball that was bouncing around in the box. It was sloppy, but it was a goal and that’s all that mattered.
Second Half Final: United States 3 Trinidad and Tobago 0
Final Notes:
-Although it was a pretty good showing for the U.S. they were still unlucky at playing to their full potential. I would really like to see them be able to keep up the strong offensive pressure the entire match, regardless of substitutions and previous goals.
-On a more positive note, the U.S. were able to hold Trinidad and Tobago scoreless. This is a change from previous matches where the U.S. broke down mentally towards the end of the game. They’re going to need to keep up this trend if they want to be considered a strong contender, or a contender at all, in the 2010 World Cup.
-All in all it was a decisive win for the United States.
1 comments:
I think you should write something about the Chelsea-Manchester City match on Sunday.
Talk about Robihno's goal and what that meant for the team and all the other things.
I think that would be interesting.
Post a Comment