US/Mexico Game Thread

2-1 US at the Half, Jozy with a great goal and Dempsey with a spectacular goal but was called a foul because it's Illegal for 3 Mexicans to get taken to school at the same time.

 

That, or the CONCACAF referees also have an anti-Fulham bias. :roll:

 

our central midfield needs some work...

 

It was a very exciting game though. I think both teams played pretty well. I don't think that goal Dempsey scored was offside, but I have not went back and seen another reply. I also think this game might have helped show that Drew Moor is not good enough right now to feature for the USA, as he was victimized twice. Although he did do a good job of setting up our second goal. I really didn't care much for our fullback pairing of Corrales and Moor. I don't think they would be playing if it was a WCQ. Anyway, exciting game I wish we could have gotten the win, but that is the way it goes.

COYWs

 

We just need the right combo, Feilhaber looked good when he came in, but he had alot to prove. I like Edu and Bradley, that is who I'd start. Convey looked horrible tonight, Get well soon Beas.

 

I do like the semi-hoop unis though...

 

I thought the Clark-Bradley combo in the center was a bad decision. Both are similar players and they do not really complement one another very well. It was great to see Jozy get a goal and play pretty well though. I completely agree with Fulhamerica1423 on Convey, thought that he was trash.

 

Now let's be nice.
Admittedly, it looked like Mexico played with 5 midfielders most of the time - likely helps explain why I felt like they controlled play in the middle of the field.

 

Can we please never have a CONCACAF ref for a USA-Mexico match ever again?

 

Moor was disasterous. Onyewu was M.O.M. And the new unis are not offensive (like the Copa ones), but they are fairly uninspiring. Look like tennis shirts.

Nice field. Shitty Ref.

 

There are too many comments on the net about how Feilhaber is lousy and cannot even play for Derby. I think Derby has been making a mistake by not playing this guy. He showed in the minor amount of time tonight why he should be getting time in the central midfield. The Bradley Feilhaber combo in the midfield was successful, and somehow it is not getting the time it should have given the fact that Benny has not been playing at Derby. Have you seen Derby play this year? They have not been able to maintain possession during the game, but Benny adds some possession to a team that cannot do it with the limited minutes he gets. I just do not get it.

The ref was horrible. He was asking for attention when he crossed himself prior to coming on the pitch. Garbage.

Marquez - ok, is anyone else in the same boat as I am with regards to this guy? He is probably the biggest puss to play the game. I have never seen a cener back go down like he does. It actually makes me sick. I am not downplaying his skill distributing the ball out of the back - typically to the left side because Ronaldinho is there - but the diving is just over the top. I have no respect for a defender diving like he dives. Joke.

Rest of the game:
Moor - dude, you cannot give up those positions. Megallon nice conversions on poor defense by Moor. Nice crosses though.
Howard - tough as nails, world class - those goals were all on Moor
Gooch - better than you have played in a while - not quite so clumsy.
Convey - I do not know what to say other than I was suprised he was in the starting line up. If Bradley was going with Corrales, I figured he would have given Davis the start at the left mid.
Altidore - the d did not expect that strike, but that was the bomb. Noting better than seeing the keeper get the ball out of the back of the net with absolutely nothing to say. I am thrilled with the future.
Deuce- beautiful goal - recorded or not, that was the difference maker - they know it was a real goal. Nice skills throughout, and meggin those plonkers was a plus.
Boca- solid play - thanks for steadying an unsteady backline.
Bradley - not your best game, but you are for real. The play in the second half where you lost the ball and regained possession made me proud. The future look bright. I am still confused with the subbing pattern.
LD - good position for you, but you have to do more. Be the threat they expect of you. You are the chupacabra for Mexico historically. Not tonight though. The free kick has to pass over the first defender.
Clark - your game is lateral and back, and that is it when you have the ball. Without the ball, you are a tireless defender. Tough trade off, but I would go with more creativity.
Adu - nice effort with the limited time.
Edu - same to you - stupid free kick to give up though.

I saw things tonight that were good. Nice possession play when historically balls would get cleared. Better vision, good delays of the attack and an overall promising future with our young guys.

Rant over.

 

I agree on Landon, he is an amazing player when he runs at defenses and is not so conservative. I have nothing more to say about Jozy, He is the Future of our Team...When I say Future I mean June. I love the way Edu plays, he never backs down and is so confident on the ball, I would vote for him to get the start. Howard was and is an absolute master tonight, I have yet to see him give up a goal in a US jersey to where I thought he couldv'e saved it. Adu needs to be starting at LM until Beas is healthy, Convey is not the answer IMO.

 

Dempsey's goal should have counted: U.S. wins it. End of story. Hated seeing Boca crash into Howard. Was it that loud at Reliant? Vela beat Moor just TOO many times. Let's get Parkhurst on. Oguchi and Altidore are awesome! Landon had some nice moves, but expect MUCH more! Convey: no thanks. Clark needs "more composure on the ball." Agreed that Marquez is a putz, getting pushed down by our teen and making a big deal out of it.
Lots of promise for USA, with Bradley as coach; he has a much better vision than Arena.

 

Neither of our Full Backs did a good job - we really missed 'Dolo and Pierce-or-Bornstein.

It might have been the best game I've seen the Gooch-Boca pairing play.

Convey had a poor game - he's not starting regularly for Reading, and doesn't do well against South American style players.

Bradley-Clark was a bad combination; I prefer Bradley-Feilhaber - I'm not sold on Edu yet.

Josy was the bomb.

Dempsey had a solid game; the goal shoulda counted, though I must admit that a tie was a fair result.

Donovan disappeared in the 2nd half.

Subbing: Bradley subbed at 60 minutes the two players who are regular field starters in Europe: Bradley and Dempsey - good way to make points with their managers. Boca's not a regular starter and Gooch, well, he plays in Belgium.

Overall, though, I would have liked to see the game with our starting full backs and their 2 injured youngsters playing. Our defense was solid and will real full backs, I'm not sure how much they'd have done to us.

 

Time for another episode of, "My line-up, if my last name was Bradley, first name Bobbby":

---------------------------- Howard -----------------------------


-- 'Dolo -- Gooch -- Boca or Conrad -- Gibbs (if healthy) or Boca --


---- Cakes -------- Dempsey ------- Bradley -------- Adu -----


--- The Haitian Sensation --- McBride (Call him!) or Twellman ---

 

What Eric said about both starting Davis on the left and Donovan needing to be better on free kicks go hand in hand. Davis was exceptional at taking free kicks against Sweden and there is no reason he should not have gotten the start along the left side tonight, or at the very least gotten into the game.

But Moor is not ready, the first one was not entirely his fault as he had to defend two guys, somebody else missed their man..the second one however was his fault and that is not good.

They just burned us with long balls all night whenever one of our outside mids would overlap into the attack and it caught us out of position every every every time and we had to bust our ass just to get back into position.

Yeah both of their goals were exactly the same and off set pieces but they should of had at least two goals in the run of play so I think a 2-2 draw is fair and prolly more than we deserve. That point makes me happy that we can have an overall sub-par game and still find enough goals to draw the 15th ranked team in the world and our rivals.

We certainly could have used the scoring threats we have now in Germany.

COYRW&B's!!!

 

Let's face it.. unless the US team falls on its face in some future time, we OWN MEXICO.

We need to actually play them in Azteca to short-cut the percentages/probabilities of them getting a win. It's a no-lose for us. No one beats Mex at Azteca, so if they win, it means nothing. If we should win... well, you can imagine!

 

I am still not clear as to why we did not play Mexico in Azteca back in September (I think). We ended up playing Brazil instead at Soldier Field. I think the US got more out of the Brazil game anyway since we do not play them as much as Mexico. Plus, more fans (non soccer fanatics) want to see the Brazilian National Team rather than the Mexican National Team.

I want to see the team keep playing better teams. I like the idea of playing some big Eurpoean teams to help them prepare for Euro.

 

Not that it's surprising anymore, but I was impressed with Boca's toughness to stay on the field after he caught Howard's elbow/forearm in the head. The broadcasters seemed pretty sure Parkhurst would be coming on for him.