USMNT v. Cuba

andypalmer · Sep 6, 2008

Team played pretty well. Ching proved why he is called up; he had almost a McBride like performance with his target-man hold-up play.

Fulhamburger · Sep 6, 2008

There's only one Clint Dempsey.

jmh · Sep 7, 2008

Been a while since Dempsey scored, nice to see him notch another one.

ToviFromSantaBarbara · Sep 7, 2008

Dempsey's strike was good, but he was lucky that it was the Cuban defense in shambles that led to the chance. Unfortunetly, Dempsey continues to look poor for the US. I was pretty disappointed in him. Not a great game by the US as a whole, but whatever, 3points on the road.

Clevelandmo · Sep 7, 2008

The US was a bit disappointing. I dont really understand why they couldnt create more chances vs a team that comes from a small nation that doesnt care much about soccer and has recently lost 7 of it's top players. I could understand against the Guats because the game was so nasty, but the only excuses last night were the rain and field conditions. Oh, the stadium also had a carribean version of the cottage where the Cuban team stayed. The announcers said the Cuban players and coaches sat on the balcony and watched the US practice. Maybe that took an edge away from their strategy but I doubt it - not sure Bradley has much strategy. They will need more against T & T.

The best story of this game is again the fans. Read this one

http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/246875

pettyfog · Sep 7, 2008

WOW!
Now THAT is a FAN!!!

HatterDon · Sep 7, 2008

clevelandmo said:

The US was a bit disappointing. I dont really understand why they couldnt create more chances vs a team that comes from a small nation that doesnt care much about soccer and has recently lost 7 of it's top players.
Click to expand...

How about playing on a green covered washboard in a driving rainstorm.

Unlike most who have posted here, I was very pleased with the performance. We wanted three points on the road and we got them. We showed discipline and, under the circumstances, creativity. I saw very little wrong with Dempsey's performance, not did I think we couldn't create chances. We had a little difficulty converting many of them to solid shots on goal, but I counted 8 or 9 solid chances from the run of play. Here's a few:

Ching receiving a beautiful pass from Bradley in the first half. He tried to control it instead of whacking it, but it was a great chance. Or, Beasley turning their right back inside out in the second half to get a clear shot and then squibbing it, or Pearce racing to the baseline and crossing barely out of the reach of three players. Or Donovan's through ball on the deck that Beasly couldn't get out from under his feet. The chances were there; the fact that we didn't convert them had a ton to do with the conditions:

By group:

Goalkeeping -- I'm at the point here where I'd just as soon have Tim Howard as any #1 in the world. That clean catch with two Cubans lurking was solid, that quick reaction stop was insane. He runs his penalty area like a top=security prison block.

Defending -- Gooch was sensational. His cutouts of Cuban passes were great. Boca was solid as always, as was Pearce. Frankie was good, but it was unusual to see him beaten for pace by his winger.

Midfield -- Beasley is only about 80 percent, but that's still good. Donovan was in and out. I thought Dempsey was solid all game as was Bradley. Edu, on the other hand, was the team's weak spot. He continually dribbled from a clear position into a group of defenders and, when he wasn't winning the ball just in front of the back four, he was slowing things down.

Striker -- Ching did wonderfully. I wish he'd have had a whack at that pass from Bradley, but he held up, dished off, took the punishment, and kept the defense honest. In other words, he played just like EJ did the last two times he started in that role for the USMNT. Here's my observation: most would agree with me that Ching did everything we could have asked him to do. Here's my other observation: had EJ started and played the exact same game, there would have been 8 or 9 posts here moaning about why he's still on the team and what's wrong with Bradley for picking him. Give a dog a bad name, as they say; just sayin'

Opponents -- I hope everyone enjoyed watching the Cubans pat Americans on the back after fouling them, holding their arms behind their backs when being lectured by the ref, not trying to injure any of our guys, and not diving. I hope everyone did, because we're only going to see that one more time during this tournement. Good on the young kids wearing white, and good on their German coach.

Fans -- I hope none of them drowned. This was by far the most NON-anti American crowd I've seen at a World Cup qualifier -- and that includes matches held in New Jersey, Texas, California, and Chicago.

The only bad point for me was missing the last two minutes of added time because ESPN won't schedule any time on a soccer match past the 2 hour mark. If they're going to do that, that's fine; just stop all the stupid pre-game inanity.

A good three points.

WhitesBhoy · Sep 7, 2008

USA policy on Cuba? Perfect example of bass ackwards.

nevzter · Sep 7, 2008

Do you think Bob Bradley received a solid gold telephone while in Cuba?

Spencer · Sep 7, 2008

All and all I think things went pretty well. I'd like to more from a few players but they did what was needed to get three points, and thank god for Tim Howard.

bostoncottage · Sep 8, 2008

A win's a win of course, but I'm getting really frustrated with our conservative style. 1-0 wins versus mid to low end CONCACAF teams isn't going to cut it when it really counts. We simply cant keep playing two holding mids and expect to compete with WC caliber teams.

Clevelandmo · Sep 8, 2008

HatterDon said:

clevelandmo said:

The US was a bit disappointing. I dont really understand why they couldnt create more chances vs a team that comes from a small nation that doesnt care much about soccer and has recently lost 7 of it's top players.
Click to expand...

How about playing on a green covered washboard in a driving rainstorm.

Unlike most who have posted here, I was very pleased with the performance. We wanted three points on the road and we got them. We showed discipline and, under the circumstances, creativity. I saw very little wrong with Dempsey's performance, not did I think we couldn't create chances. We had a little difficulty converting many of them to solid shots on goal, but I counted 8 or 9 solid chances from the run of play. Here's a few:

Ching receiving a beautiful pass from Bradley in the first half. He tried to control it instead of whacking it, but it was a great chance. Or, Beasley turning their right back inside out in the second half to get a clear shot and then squibbing it, or Pearce racing to the baseline and crossing barely out of the reach of three players. Or Donovan's through ball on the deck that Beasly couldn't get out from under his feet. The chances were there; the fact that we didn't convert them had a ton to do with the conditions:

By group:

Goalkeeping -- I'm at the point here where I'd just as soon have Tim Howard as any #1 in the world. That clean catch with two Cubans lurking was solid, that quick reaction stop was insane. He runs his penalty area like a top=security prison block.

Defending -- Gooch was sensational. His cutouts of Cuban passes were great. Boca was solid as always, as was Pearce. Frankie was good, but it was unusual to see him beaten for pace by his winger.

Midfield -- Beasley is only about 80 percent, but that's still good. Donovan was in and out. I thought Dempsey was solid all game as was Bradley. Edu, on the other hand, was the team's weak spot. He continually dribbled from a clear position into a group of defenders and, when he wasn't winning the ball just in front of the back four, he was slowing things down.

Striker -- Ching did wonderfully. I wish he'd have had a whack at that pass from Bradley, but he held up, dished off, took the punishment, and kept the defense honest. In other words, he played just like EJ did the last two times he started in that role for the USMNT. Here's my observation: most would agree with me that Ching did everything we could have asked him to do. Here's my other observation: had EJ started and played the exact same game, there would have been 8 or 9 posts here moaning about why he's still on the team and what's wrong with Bradley for picking him. Give a dog a bad name, as they say; just sayin'

Opponents -- I hope everyone enjoyed watching the Cubans pat Americans on the back after fouling them, holding their arms behind their backs when being lectured by the ref, not trying to injure any of our guys, and not diving. I hope everyone did, because we're only going to see that one more time during this tournement. Good on the young kids wearing white, and good on their German coach.

Fans -- I hope none of them drowned. This was by far the most NON-anti American crowd I've seen at a World Cup qualifier -- and that includes matches held in New Jersey, Texas, California, and Chicago.

The only bad point for me was missing the last two minutes of added time because ESPN won't schedule any time on a soccer match past the 2 hour mark. If they're going to do that, that's fine; just stop all the stupid pre-game inanity.

A good three points.
Click to expand...

Geez Don, talk about selective editing of my post. That's a high horse you're riding on

HatterDon · Sep 8, 2008

sorry, Mo; I'm just a typically overemotional man. What can I say?

BarryP · Sep 9, 2008

I don't mind admitting that I am a flag-waving homer for the US national teams at all levels but the most apt description I can put on this game, after days of thinking and waiting to post, is that it was a good result from a poor performance.

Timmy, Ching, Gooch and Bradley all had good performances.

Duece was better than he has been but I am really questioning his finishing ability. I know he scored but not to even put the breakaway on goal was really poor. If he had gone just wide or just high I would understand but that was a scuff my eight year old would not make.

Speaking of poor shooting, I can only hope DMB finds both his form and confidence soon because what he can bring to this squad is irreplaceable when he is on.

Boca, Donovan and Pearce all had unmemorable performances. They were neither very good or very bad.

Edu needs more time with the team. His passing was awful at times and brilliant at other times. All-in-all he gave the ball away to much and a truly good team would have made us pay.

Hejduk=I cannot cross in algebra. Too bad Wynne didn't get any minutes.

Klejstan really stood out in his cameo. His off the ball running nearly created several chances and I hope to see much more of Sacha with the senior team. He is rapidly becoming one of my favorites from the USMNT.

Having said all that I will go back to flag-waving and point out that good teams grind out wins from poor performances.

Forum	Title	Date
Prem talk, Those Other Leagues, and International	USMNT at Cuba	Oct 7, 2016
Prem talk, Those Other Leagues, and International	USMNT v. Cuba, 2nd Leg	Oct 3, 2008
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Prem talk, Those Other Leagues, and International	USMNT vs. Trinidad & Tobago	Nov 17, 2023
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USMNT v. Cuba

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