3rd Degree


USA Stymied by Guatemala

March 29th, 2007 . 9:48 am . By: Ed Bazan

Cooper vs Guatemala, Courtesy US Soccer

After a solid win over Ecuador last weekend, which included a Landon Donovan hat trick, Texas fans were looking forward to an even bigger win against lowly Guatemala. Coach Bob Bradley fielded a team where more than half the players have little to no international experience, which resulted in a 0 – 0 draw.
 
“At times tonight it seemed like we were afraid to make a mistake,” said Coach Bradley. “We have to find the confidence to push the game harder. There is a mentality that goes along with it, that even if the goal doesn’t come easily, it’s not that something that you allow to frustrate you.”
 
Frank Simek and Jay DeMerit received their first international caps while playing defense for the USA.
 
Both players were pleased to be a part of the national team and DeMerit later said, “Obviously, there are still things to improve on, but as a first time out we held together and kept a clean sheet. It would have been great to get a win in your first cap, but overall I enjoyed it and we got a decent result.”
 
Eddie Johnson, who previously played for the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) started at forward for the USA and had two good chances early on.
 
Justin Mapp set up both opportunities with a couple of good runs down the left wing. Guatemalan goalkeeper Ricardo Trigueno made a diving save on one shot while his defense blocked the other at point blank range.
 
Coach Bradley stated that Johnson has returned to national team camp with a good attitude and he is not ready to give up on him. “A lot of people have almost pushed him aside. I think we have seen progress. Tonight is more a thinking exercise for him. Finding the right spaces and making the right choices in a tight situation has never been his best thing yet.”
 
The style of play employed by Guatemala is what can be expected by the USA in the upcoming Gold Cup tournament. Opponents have seen the USA can be dangerous once they find their rhythm and a stingy defense will only frustrate them in the later stages of a game.
 
When asked if he thinks Guatemala will play a similar style in the tourney, Donovan said, “Sure. They don’t care what it looked like; they were there to get a result. Give them credit; they did what they needed to do.”
 
The visitors had their best chance just before the break when a lofted pass found Carlos Ruiz inside the penalty area. He let loose with a flying half-volley that slammed into the ground and bounced high over the crossbar.
 
Ruiz has been one of the most dangerous goalscorers in MLS for a number of years but had little room to work with on the night. USA defender Jimmy Conrad kept a tight leash on Ruiz, which earned him the Sierra Mist man of the match honor.
 
Homegrown product Kenny Cooper, who now plays for FC Dallas, entered the game in the 59th minute to raucous applause. “It was very special to be able to play here in Dallas. Going to high school here, I’ve said before there’s so many people in Dallas who’ve been so influential in my soccer career, whether it’s been coaches I’ve played for, my parents that were here, my whole family that was here. It was very special.”
 
Cooper is a big man with deceptive speed and is not afraid to turn on his defender and go straight at him. He stirred things up immediately and the USA responded with a flurry of activity around the Guatemalan goal but no good shots on goal came of it.
 
The visitors withstood the sudden barrage and reorganized in order to play with 9, sometimes 10 defenders for the remainder of the game.
 
Coach Bradley must decide which players will be used for the Gold Cup and Copa America later this year. A number of young players could be tested and their performance will go a long way on whether they continue to see playing time in future World Cup qualifying games.
 
 
Match-up: USA vs. Guatemala
Date: March 28, 2007
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Pizza Hut Park – Frisco, Texas
Kickoff: 8 p.m. CT
Attendance: 10,932
Weather: Partly cloudy, 76 degrees
 
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA                   0 0 0
Guatemala       0 0 0
 
Lineups:
 
USA:
18-Kasey Keller;
25-Frank Simek,
23-Jay DeMerit,
12-Jimmy Conrad,
4-Jonathan Spector (13-Wade Barrett, 74);
2-Clint Dempsey,
5-Benny Feilhaber (19-Kenny Cooper, 59),
8-Michael Bradley,
21-Justin Mapp;
10-Landon Donovan (capt.),
9-Eddie Johnson (17-Brian Mullan, 67) 		GUA:
1-Ricardo Tregueno;
5-Henry Medina,
3-Pablo Melgar,
6-Gustavo Cabrera,
7-Claudio Albizuris;
2-Leonel Noriega,
15-Freddy Thompson,
8-José Contreras,
12-Carlos Figueroa,
18-Carlos Quinonez:
20-Carlos Ruiz (17-Dwight Pezzarossi, 91+)
Subs not used:
6-Steve Cherundolo,
7-DaMarcus Beasley,
14-Kyle Beckerman,
16-Brian Carroll,
24-Brad Guzan
Head Coach: Bob Bradley 		Subs not used:
9-Edwin Villatoro,
11-Marvin Ávila,
13-Nestor Martinez,
16-Saul de Mata,
19-Mario Rodriguez,
22-Luis Molina
Head Coach: Luis Suarez
 
Misconduct Summary:
GUA – Carlos Figueroa (caution) 34th minute
USA – Jay DeMerit (caution) 50.
GUA – Henry Medina (caution) 69.
GUA – Pablo Melgar (caution) 71.
GUA – Ricardo Tregueno (caution) 92+.
 
Stats Summary: USA GUA
Shots 7 6
Save 2 3
Corner Kicks 3 1
Fouls 14 11
Offside 0 4
 
Officials:
Referee: Benito Archundia (MEX)
1st Asst.: Marvin Torrentera (MEX)
2nd Asst.: Alfonso Delgado (MEX)
Fourth Official: Jair Maruffo (USA)
 
Sierra Mist Man of the Match: Jimmy Conrad

Categories: Match Report.





4 Comments

  1. Comment by Wes on March 29, 2007 12:17 PM

    The attendance at the game last night was REALLY disappointing.

  2. Comment by FCDALLAS96 on March 29, 2007 1:26 PM

    It frustrates me to no end to read this quote “Tonight is more a thinking exercise for him. Finding the right spaces and making the right choices in a tight situation has never been his best thing yet.” This should be something that EJ should be working on during MLS games, not US National team games. EJ shouldn’t come back to the National Team fold until he proves that he can score goals in MLS otherwise he will never get the point that showing up just isn’t good enough anymore. I couldn’t be happier that we traded him away while he still had value because as of right now, you couldn’t give him or that big salary of his away!

  3. Comment by Buzahn on March 29, 2007 1:36 PM

    Coach Bradley had already released many veteran players after Sunday leaving him with a roster full of green players. Since they face GUA in the first game of the Gold Cup, neither team wanted to show too much in a friendly when a much more important game lies ahead. Fans in the know could see it coming and if we were looking for another game like last Sunday then we were only fooling ourselves.

    As for EJ, good thing he’s got Bradley on his side (for now) or he probably wouldn’t get a look until he starts producing again in MLS.

    Ed

  4. Comment by TheGribbler on March 29, 2007 8:48 PM

    Attendance was lacking a little, but don’t be fooled by the ‘official’ 10k. With 20,500+ capacity it was probably 80% full.

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