Filed under: International | Tags: bob bradley, gold cup, haiti, jay heaps, stuart holden, United States
Stuart Holden scored in the second minute of second-half stoppage time to earn the United States a 2-2 draw with Haiti and send it to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup as the winner of Group B.
Holden’s equalizer extended the Americans’ unbeaten streak against home against CONCACAF opponents to 56 after Haiti jeopardized the string by scoring twice in the first four minutes of the second half. The result maintained the Americans’ unbeaten record in Gold Cup group play (23-2-0) and ensured a date with the third-placed team from Group A or C in the next round.
The Houston Dynamo maestro gave the United States a stunning equalizer deep into stoppage time.
“When you begin the tournament, the goal is to win your group and advance,” United States head coach Bob Bradley said. “The first thing that we said after the game is that we’ve accomplished that goal.”
Davy Arnaud opened the scoring for the United States, which started four players making their international debut, after six minutes. Holden split the Haitian defense with and incisive pass. Arnaud rushed onto the feed and tucked his left-footed effort to the side of onrushing goalkeeper Jean Dominique Zephirin.
“We scored an early goal, but it came so early that we hadn’t found a rhythm in the game yet,” Bradley said. “After that, we were still trying to find that rhythm. They were able to make some plays and cause some trouble.”
Holden nearly doubled the lead after 25 minutes when he was given time and space to fire from 30 yards. The long-distance drive rattled the underside of the crossbar, but did not bounce over the line.
Haiti threatened several times in the first half. Fabrice Noel cut inside and challenged U.S. goalkeeper Luis Robles, one of the debutantes, with a high drive. Robles parried it over his own head and had to rush back to push the effort away from his own goal line.
Moments after Jimmy Conrad put a header over the bar from a Holden corner kick, Robles made up for his earlier error by denying Sirin Vaniel from close range to ensure the U.S. would enter the halftime break with the advantage.
The lead didn’t last as Haiti scored twice within the first four minutes of the second half to seize control.
“We understood what I said (about what we had studied of the U.S.) at halftime and played a very spectacular second half, in my consideration,” Haiti coach Jairo Rios said.
Leonel Saint Preaux outmuscled U.S. left back Jay Heaps on the right wing before sending his cross to the far post. Robles was unable to get a touch and Virin nodded home at the far post to bring Haiti level.
Robles and Heaps were at the center of Haiti’s second goal four minutes later. Heaps cleared a pass along the end line into the center of the park as Robles rushed out tardily to do the same. Chery collected the clearance and lashed home spectacularly into the upper left corner from 25 yards.
Suddenly faced with the peril of not going through at the top of its group, the United States started to press in search of the equalizer. U.S. coach Bob Bradley inserted Charlie Davies, Kyle Beckerman and Brian Ching to spur the offense.
Holden headed a Colin Clark cross wide, while substitute Charlie Davies scuffed a chance under heavy pressure from Pierre Richard Bruny.
It looked like the U.S. would have to wait for the result in the nightcap between Honduras and Grenada to find out its final spot in the group until Holden scored in stoppage time to grab a point.
“It really hurts because it was one minute before the end of the match,” Rios said.
Analysis: Again, for the United States, we can draw positives from the match, and, at the same time, looking at what went wrong and how to improve for the next round of the the Gold Cup.
The Good: Stuart Holden not only netted a great equalizer, but he player superbly well all game. On six minutes his pass cut open the Haitian defense (along with a great run from Arnaud), and from then on, he looked the most composed of the United States “C” team – if you will. I saw the starting eleven today and wasn’t that pleased. I’m sure Bradley felt compelled to rest some of his players for later on, but I wanted to see at least one or two names out there.
The Bad: Jay Heaps. He was getting beat by his man so regularly he may as well have not been there. Not to mention, he seemed to have played a small part in causing the Haitian’s second goal (also unreal). Where it looked like Robles was coming for the ball and calling for it (I’m not actually sure he was calling. I wasn’t there) but Heaps played the ball to “safety” which coincidentally was the feet of Mones Chery for put the ball in an empty net from 25 yards out. But hey, even if Robles was in goal and ready for the shot…he wasn’t going anywhere near that ball.
The Ugly: The result. We tied Haiti. I felt like Bradley could have made some stronger lineup decisions. But rather, he fielded a fairly untested and unexperieced group of players – four of which were uncapped. I’m all for trying out new and young players, but typically I would think to field at least a few key names in the spine like Adu or Feilhaber (Feilhaber who now seems like he is benched until something goes wrong and he’s brought in to rectify the situation).
I can’t be overly critical. We finished top of our group, rested our key players and pulled a draw out of a game that was a minute from close and us crashing out of the Gold Cup (something that would absolutely bring Bradley’s credibility as a coach into the spotlight). Nevertheless, we’re through and into the knockout round.
Santino Quaranta celebrates in style after opening his account for the United States at the RFK.
Santino Quaranta couldn’t have asked for a better setting to score his first goal as a member of the U.S. national team.
Quaranta was making his first appearance for the United States in more than three years, and the member of MLS’ D.C. United broke a scoreless tie in the 75th minute before his home fans at RFK Stadium to help the Americans beat Honduras 2-0.
Brian Ching followed Quaranta’s goal with a header four minutes later to seal the win.
“It’s hard to explain how special it is,” Quaranta said. “I was trying to tell myself all day just to enjoy it, but it was difficult.”
Quaranta publicly acknowledged he had battled drug and alcohol addictions the past few years before getting another chance with D.C. United last year. That’s where he started his MLS career in 2001. Now, his road to recovery has made it all the way to the national squad.
“To listen to the anthem was very emotional for me,” Quaranta said. “It’s been a fun, long road back.”
The United States, two-time defending champion in the competition contested among the countries of North and Central America and the Caribbean, is 23-0-1 in Gold Cup group play.
The Americans are 2-0 and lead Group B going into their final first-round match against Haiti on Saturday in Foxboro
ugh, Mass., where a draw will be enough to clinch the group and move into the quarterfinals.
Honduras (1-1) will face winless Grenada, also in Foxborough. Haiti (1-1) beat Grenada in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader 2-0.
Quaranta took a short pass from Charlie Davies, who replaced Freddy Adu in the 64th minute, at the top of the penalty box and fired in his first goal for the national team.
“I looked to my left and saw Santino making a good run, so I was able to lay off a good ball for him,” Davies said. “He was just like, ‘Thanks.’ I think it was gratifying for him to score in front of the home crowd.”
The crowd of 26,079 had a pro-Honduras bent, but there were still enough American fans to loudly cheer Quaranta’s goal.
Quaranta was one of several new players on the U.S. roster for the Gold Cup. The Americans have a nearly entirely different roster from the U.S. team that made a surprise run to the Confederations Cup championship game last month; most regulars were given a rest for the Gold Cup.
Brain Ching returns to action with a goal to double the lead for the United States.
The Americans last played Honduras on June 6 in a World Cup qualifying match, but the only American who was dressed for that game and Wednesday’s match was Benny Feilhaber, who came on in the 64th minute.
“There were times in the game we couldn’t find the right rhythm,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “But I think there was still a good understanding of pushing the tempo. When we push the game for 90 minutes, we think that’s an advantage for us.”
Both squads had several opportunities before the United States broke through.
In the 15th minute, Quaranta had a header go wide left of the goalpost. Adu started the sequence with a nifty heel kick to Robbie Rogers, who took the ball deep into the left side of the penalty area before sending a cross to Quaranta in the middle. He dived and sent the header toward the post.
The Americans had another chance in the 22nd minute. Kyle Beckerman passed to Ching in the box. Ching chipped the ball over goalkeeper Donis Escobar, but he couldn’t regain his footing as he chased down the ball and Honduras cleared off the goal line. Ching had another chance in the 51st minute when he took a cross right in front of the net and his shot went over the bar.
Honduras had a golden opportunity in the 30th minute. Walter Martinez had a breakaway with only goalkeeper Troy Perkins to beat, but his shot was just wide, hitting the right side of the goal netting.
The substitutions of Davies and Feilhaber in the 64th minute seemed to re-energize the American offense.
“For me, it’s doing what I always do, which is cause a lot of havoc for the back line,” Davies said.
The boost came at the perfect time for Quaranta, who was left searching for words to describe the night.
“To be able to do it here in RFK where it all started for me is – special,” Quaranta said. “I keep going back to that, but it really is.”
– Fox Soccer
Analysis: It was great to see the USMNT “B” Side get a win against Honduras. We looked a shade better than we did in the previous game too (sure it was 4-0 but it was also Grenada), which is just our second string shaking off the dust. There were a lot of positives, but also some worrying things that should be drawn into the light.
The Good: Once we got into gear, we looked pretty decent going forward with Adu being the catalyst in a lot of the forward movements. He was clever and clear headed and often found the right pass. He lost the ball only a few times (who hasn’t? Dempsey v Italy?), but recovered well and kept his head up.
And, for me at least, Kyle Beckerman was very suprising. He was our own little engine man, being involved in about every movement. His passing was looking good for what time he’s been shone in the national squad. Now, he is 27, so it’s unlikely that he will eclipse anyone for a spot in the starting eleven, but he’s not a bad kid to have around. I didn’t think he looked all the part in the first game, but he wasn’t too shabby yesterday.
Feilhaber (my knight in shining armor) looked good again on the field, orchestrating much of play and creating chances (ie Quaranta’s goal). I don’t know how Ricardo Clark is keeping him out of the starting eleven.
The Bad: Our two center backs were split open too easily in the first half. Too many breakaways and searching through balls showed that they lacked communication and against more threatening opposition, we would have paid the price.
Robbie Rogers going forward was like flipping a coin. Half the time he skinned his man and put in a decent cross, the other half he lost the ball, fell over, and couldn’t get back in time to defend. He’s still a young kid, and shows that in the raw talent and lack of a better, quicker pass, but he’s got promise. At least he’s willing to take on a full back, though, as too often we see wingers who fail to create due to their lack of flair. Once he figures out the right time to run at a full back and the right time to pass and move off the ball, we’ll have a quality winger on our side.
The Ugly: Nothing too ugly. Maybe Beckerman’s hair.
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