June 5, 2010 – The US Men’s National Team defeated Australia 3-1 in a physical, action-pact match in Roodepoort, South Africa. Two, first-half goals from Edson Buddle and a late tally from substitute Herculez Gomez were more than enough to cancel out a first half strike from Australia’s Tim Cahill. While the Americans created numerous chances going forward, they still looked a little vulnerable at the back.
Coach Bob Bradley sent out a strong side. It was a starting XI we might see against England in a week with the possible addition of Jozy Altidore. The young striker missed out after spraining his ankle in training during the week.
The US started well and Landon Donovan headed a cross on net in just the 3rd minute but the big, Australian keeper, Mark Schwarzer, made a comfortable save. A minute later the Americans had the lead. Robbie Findley pressured Vince Grella as he tried to dribble away from his area. Buddle pounced on a heavy touch by the Australian then calmly dribbled forward, shifted the ball to his favored, right foot and blasted it past Schwarzer from the top of the box.
Not much happened for the next ten minutes until the US sprung the off-side trap with Findley breaking free on goal. The speedy striker rounded the advancing Schwarzer but couldn’t get his shot on net when it really should have been 2-0.
Two minutes later the Americans were punished for their wastefulness in front of goal. Jay DeMerit headed a cross out for a corner when it seemed like he should have steered it up field or at least out into touch. From the resulting set piece, the clever Cahill ghosted in at the far post to squeeze a volley between Steve Cherundolo and the upright. The veteran fullback really should have kept it out but the two sides were level.
In the 27th minute, the US put together several good passes on a lightning-quick counter attack. Clint Dempsey got off a good, left-footed shot from inside the penalty area. However, the busy Schwarzer pulled off an excellent save, diving to his left to palm the ball around the post for a corner. Three minutes later Tim Howard did well to smother a fierce drive from distance at the other end of the pitch.
In the 31st minute, the Americans regained the lead when Ricardo Clark wisely switched fields to a wide-open Cherundolo. The talented fullback skipped past his defender to send over a delightful cross from deep in the corner. Buddle was making the far post run as he rose to head the ball down and into the net. The Soccerroos could have been level just four minutes later but Josh Kennedy headed wide of the far post after his maker, DeMerit, had fallen over.
In the 36th minute, both sides were lucky not to be reduced to ten men after a bust up between Dempsey and Craig Moore. The US midfielder was cynically chopped down by the Australian defender as he dribbled through the middle of the park. As Clint got up, Moore grabbed the American, who had a few choice words for his assailant. The Aussie then shoved Dempsey and the two literally went head to head before they could be separated by teammates. If this had been a World Cup match, both players would have been sent off but the South African referee prudently decided that yellow cards were sufficient in this particular incident. Not much else happened for the remainder of the half and the US went into the break a goal up.
At the beginning of the second half, Marcus Hahnemann replaced Howard in net for the Americans. Australia started quickly in search of an equalizer and could have been level after Cherundolo allowed his man to get a cross in that bounced across the six-yard box.
The Soccerroos’ pressure was leaving space at the back and the US nearly scored on a counter attack in the 52nd minute. Donovan did very well to settle a long ball out of the back and find Buddle with a delicately-weighted pass. Despite being a goal away from a hat trick, Buddle generously squared the ball to Findley, who somehow managed to hit the crossbar from just six yards out with the net empty. Michael Bradley, who was trailing the play, lashed the rebound goalward but Schwarzer managed to parry the ball into the path of the on-rushing Dempsey, who powered the ball into the back of the net with a diving header. However, by this time the linesman had raised his flag after spotting the unfortunate Findley in an offside position.
Three minutes later, Jonathan Bornstein came on for Carlos Bocanegra, who seemed to be recovering well from hernia surgery. Oguchi Onyewu then replace Clarence Goodson in the 61st minute. Mounting Australian pressure saw Hahnemann called into action repeatedly in the US goal. While the veteran keeper made a couple of fine saves, he struggled to deal with a series of crosses. His punched clearance of the first lacked power while he completely missed the next two balls into the area. Hahnemann’s struggles could partly be contributed to the setting sun.
In the 75th minute, DeMerit’s horrendous give-away forced Hahnemann to make another fine save. Fortunately, with Cahill having departed at halftime, the Aussies were rather inept in front of goal and the US retained the lead.
The US made a couple of late substitutions in an effort to take some of the sting out of the game. DaMarcus Beasley came on for the goal scorer Buddle and Herculez Gomez replace Dempsey but not before the later absorbed several hard fouls from the Australians.
The Soccerroos weren’t giving up as they pushed hard for a tying goal late into the game. This led to a series of half-chances for the Americans on the counter attack. They finally converted one in the third minute of stoppage time when Donovan fired a precise cross into the area where Gomez expertly directed his volley past Schwarzer. This killed off the match with the US deserving victors.
Coach Bradley and his team should be feeling pretty good heading into their opening match with England. They created loads of scoring chances and passed the ball around nicely at times. However, they’ll have to tighten things up defensively if they are to advance in the tournament. Had they been trying to contain a striker like Peter Crouch instead of Josh Kennedy, the result might have been different.
Player ratings for the US Team (scored 1-10):
Tim Howard, goalkeeper (6): A solid, first-half performance from America’s #1. He saved a couple of shots from distance but was let down by Cherundolo at the back post for the goal.
Clarence Goodson, central defender (6): Quietly and effectively saw to his defensive duties until he was replaced by Onyewu just past the hour mark.
Jay DeMerit, central defender (5): A shaky performance from the normally reliable defender. The corner he conceded led to the Aussies goal. He had a couple other slip ups as well. Hopefully he’s gotten it out of his system before the tournament begins.
Carlos Bocanegra, left fullback (6): Another defender who quietly went about his business before being substituted. He looks to be closing in on full fitness in time for the opener against England.
Steve Cherundolo, right fullback (6): His rating would have been much higher if not for a couple of defensive miscues as he was fantastic going forward. He should never have allowed the goal as guarding the post was his only responsibility on the corner. He allowed a dangerous cross early in the second half as well. However, his cross for the second goal was sublime and he was a constant threat to the Australian defense.
Ricardo Clark, central midfielder (6): He also had a pretty quiet game with some good, some bad and some indifferent touches. All in all, his work with Bradley shaded the midfield battle in favor of the Americans. Hopefully the injury he suffered late in the match isn’t too serious.
Michael Bradley, central midfielder (6): He looked composed and wisely sat deep most of the game with two offensive-minded wingers on either flank. He nearly scored when following up Findley’s surprising miss off the crossbar.
Landon Donovan, left midfielder (7): The US team looks so much more dangerous with him in the line up. He made some good runs and passes as well as setting up the third goal for Gomez. He’ll need to put in a bit more defensive work against stronger opponents.
Clint Dempsey, right midfielder (6): Not sure what he said but the Aussies really hated him. He was sent to ground with extreme prejudice on four or five occasions. He looked dangerous in the first half, drifted out of the game a bit in the second before being substituted for his own protection late on.
Robbie Findley, striker (4): If he’d had any luck at all it could have been 5-1. He missed a couple of real sitters as things just weren’t coming off for him. Findley does deserve some credit for the opening goal as it was his pressure that led to the turnover.
Edson Buddle, striker (7): When the World Cup squad was announced, I thought Brian Ching should have made it over Buddle but Coach Bradley seems to have gotten it right. He looked poised, calm and took his goals well. Should Altidore fail to overcome his ankle injury before the England match, Edson is a ready replacement.
Substitutes:
Marcus Hahnemann, goalkeeper (5): He made three nice saves but struggled mightily with several crosses. No question about who will start in net this tournament.
Jonathan Bornstein, left fullback (6): The best I’ve seen him play all year. He was assertive, decisive and didn’t commit any of the mental mistakes that have plagued him recently. Coach Bradley will probably feel that he’s got some measure of defensive insurance now with the questionable health of his back line.
Oguchi Onyewu, central defender (5): Sadly I haven’t seen anything to indicate that he’ll be able to play in this tournament. He positioned himself intelligently to make a couple of key interceptions but his movement looks slow and labored. Perhaps he can be a factor if the US reach the knock out phase of the tournament.
DaMarcus Beasley, left midfielder (no rating): Came on late, didn’t do anything that I can remember until he got knocked on his ass near the US bench and that doesn’t warrant much of a rating, does it?
Herculez Gomez, striker (6): Badly scuffed a pass to Findley in front of goal. Gave away a dangerous free kick but then he confidently deposited the ball in the back of the net and isn’t that what the US is going to need from him?
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