1. Tim Howard proved without a shadow of a doubt that he was the best American...scratch that, the best soccer player in the derby yesterday. Ricardo Clark gave Steven Gerrard a freebie in front of the net. No goalie is going to stop that. Howard withstood a barrage of firing range shots from the likes of Gerrard, Rooney, and Lampard, not to mention a couple cleats to the rib cage. We're still waiting to hear the severity of Howard's injury, but judging by how he responded following the collision, I can't imagine even broken ribs would hold him out of the rest of the tournament.
2. The Gooch is hard. Cherundolo did his part to shut down England's speedy wingers, but the beast in the middle was as solid as ever. Rooney and Emile Heskey had a couple decent runs throughout the first half and into the second, but Ye held strong and deflected quite a few of them. Hell, even Big Bird (Peter Crouch) couldn't climb over the stout back.
3. Rooney was basically a non-factor for the first 75 minutes. He had a couple near-misses late in the game, but other than that DeMerit and Onyewu had him on lock down. Every time he got the ball deep or was making a run, a blue jersey was all over him.
4. Vuvuzelas need to be outlawed. Those fucking horns are just stupid. Can ESPN at least turn down the stadium audio so we can't hear them?
5. Robert Green's gift goal. I almost feel bad for the guy. Almost. But he plays for those damn dirty Brits so screw him. I don't think too many middle school goalies would have struggled handling Dempsey's ambitious punch shot. Thanks Mr. Green. You're my hero.
6. A tie is a win. It's amazing how much better England is than the U.S. You could tell that the English were desperate and frustrated that they weren't slaughtering the Americans by the tone of play late. English forwards and middies alike were peppering Howard with shot attempts at a feverish pace. We'd recover possession, then promptly boot it down field where they'd collect and then give another go. The ball rarely left their attacking half the last 20 or so minutes of play.
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Slovenia beating Algeria in the opener wasn't a shocker, but it does put the U.S. and England alike into a hole. The Americans are going to be in more trouble if they don't hand Slovenia a loss on Friday. A draw is not really good enough because Goal Differential is a whore who toys with you and then steals your dreams. That being said, the last match in Group C is U.S. vs. Algeria so regardless they should know what they need to win by to advance.
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1 comment:
true Cods, this game woulda been 5-0 if not for 'The Octopus' Howard and Green plonker of a scoop. encouraging to get the draw, but it also shows that the us and a doesn't have much of a chance once they reach the knockout round, not with that lack of offense.
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