Live The Pitch

The U.S. National Team earned a birth in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup final with a 2-0 victory over Honduras.  This will be the third straight Gold Cup finals appearance for the U.S.  I have to applaud Bob Bradley for taking this team of players to the final.  This is quite an accomplishment for this team.

The last 10 minutes of the first half was dominated by the U.S., and in the 45th minute Clarence Goodsen headed a corner kick past a helpless Honduran goalkeeper.  The U.S. defensive line played well throughout the first half limiting the Hondurans to few opportunities on goal.

The second half began slowly but the U.S. set the pace for the rest of the match by clearly dominating possession. The U.S. shows that they have great depth in many positions now, especially the back-line. Honduras did not play their “A” team but it was still a solid performance from Bradley’s squad.

The U.S. put the icing on the cake in the 89th minute, when second half sub Kenny Cooper found the back of the net after some great combination play by the Americans.  It was a perfect way to finish an exciting match between two great nations.

The U.S. will now face the winner of Mexico and Costa Rica.  Either way the U.S. is in for a battle on July 28th, at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.  It will be interesting to see who Bradley plays in the final match.  Go USA!!

The USA secured their spot in the 2009 Concacaf Gold Cup with an exhausting 2-1 overtime victory over Panama.  The win puts the USA in the semifinals where they will rematch a tough Honduras squad.  Honduras defeated Canada 1-0 in the opening match of the night.  In bracket play, the U.S. defeated Honduras 2-0.

The U.S. proved to me that they are able to dig deep and play with heart in this match.  I applaud Bob Bradley for a great coaching job in this tournament.  With the squad the U.S. has fielded, he has done a masterful  job managing the new players into the national team system.

Panama struck first in the 45th minute with a goal from Blas Perez.  It was not a great opening half  for either squad.  The U.S. had a few opportunities but did not capitalize going into the half down 1-0.  The U.S. was in need of a motivational speech from Bradley if they were going to take this match.

It didn’t take long for the U.S. to get even when Kyle Beckerman found the back of the net in the 48th minute off the assist from Davy Arnoud.  It was clear the U.S. came out with a purpose in the 2nd half to take it to Panama.  Throughout the remainder of the half the U.S. was constantly pressuring the Panama defense just missing the back of the net a few times.

In overtime it would come down to who wanted the victory more.  Both teams had chances but neither could capitalize until the U.S. was awarded a free kick when Kenny Cooper was fouled in the box.  Cooper stepped up to the ball and drilled it home.  The remainder of the match was very heated with Panama not wanting to go out without a fight.

Overall it was a very ugly match with both teams fighting hard to get the spot in the semifinals.  Game ball goes to Bob Bradley on this one.  I would imagine he is going to bring in some national team regulars for the next match with these players absolutely exhausted after this match.

The semifinals will take place next Thursday, July 23, at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Go USA!

In their second match of the 2009 Gold Cup, the U.S. defeated Honduras 2-0 in front of 29,000 fans at RFK Stadium.  Both the U.S. and Honduras came into this match looking to clinch a spot in the next round.  After coming off a 4-0 victory over Grenada, the U.S. was looking to prove they could play at the same level against a stronger opponent.

Bob Bradley made a few changes to the the roster from the game played against Grenada.  His best move was allowing Santino Quaranta to get a shot at the international level. Adding Ching to the roster also proved to be a great move by Bradley, but besides the late goal Ching seemed lost most of the night.

The match started with both teams getting into each others boxes but neither could manage to get a great opportunity at goal.  With his incredible pace on the ball, Robbie Rogers again proved why he should be considered for the qualifying games in August.

The first real chance of the game came in the 22nd minute when Ching fought hard inside the Honduran box to beat his defender. He tried to flick it past the Honduran goalkeeper, but the ball went just wide of the goal.  The play didn’t result in a goal, but it was a nice look by Kyle Beckerman to find Ching at the top of the box.

In the 30th minute Honduras found a gap in the U.S. defense when a long through ball found Martinez who had beat the entire defense.  The Honduran had acres of space but sent his attempt at goal off the side netting.  Honduras definitely missed a golden opportunity to get on top when Martinez missed the fast break.

The U.S. then missed a great chance in the 33rd minute when Freddy Adu found himself wide open in front of goal, but sent his header right to the Honduran goalkeeper.  It was a great ball served right to Adu’s head with no pressure on him.  If Adu wants to impress the coaching staff he has to finish these opportunities.

Both squads had a couple of decent chances at goal throughout the rest of the half, but neither team could break the 0-0 deadlock.

The second half started slowly with neither team wanting to make a mistake,  but within ten minutes the U.S. had set the pace for the remainder of the match.  It was only a matter of time before we saw the ball hit the back of the net.

Bob Bradley made the perfect coaching move in  the 64th minute when he brought in Benny Feilhaber and Charlie Davies off the bench.  Freddy Adu took a seat after being  a non-factor in the midfield for the U.S.  Overall it was not a great performance by Adu.

In the 73rd minute the USA found the back of the net off a great finish from Santino Quaranta.  It was excellent combination play by the Americans.  Feilhaber played a great ball to Davies at the top of the box. Davies then made a quick touch to his right where a streaking Quaranta blasted the shot home.  Truly a great goal by the USA!

Brian Ching put the nail in the coffin in the 79th minute with a header that deflected off the Honduran defender before beating the helpless goalkeeper.  Steve Cherundolo played a great match at right back. He also assisted the second goal with a perfectly bent ball to the back post.

It was a great win tonight for the USA against a Honduran squad that looked like they had something to prove.  The U.S. showed us that they are capable of playing great soccer at times.  The Livethepitch.com man of the match goes to Santino Quaranta.  Other players that played well were Rogers, Beckerman, and Cherundolo.