I spent Saturday night enjoying myself at a Matisyahu concert and even though, I couldn't avoid the final score and a few updates on Twitter and the ESPN bottom line, I'm thankful that I didn't watch the Gold Cup Final live.
Mexico rallied from an early 2-0 deficit for a well-deserved 4-2 win at the Rose Bowl over the U.S. men's national team.
Head coach Bob Bradley's team could not have scripted a better start as they got up 1-0 in the eighth minute on a flick on header by his son Michael off a Freddy Adu corner kick. Just 15 minutes later, Landon Donovan made it 2-0 and temporarily quieted the pro-Mexican crowd following a nice through ball from Clint Dempsey.
There was way too much time left on the clock though as Mexico quickly got one back in the 29th minute from Pablo Barera. It was tied five minutes later as Andres Guardado got a gift right on his foot from Eric Lichaj that he just had to barely redirect in.
The third Mexican goal, by Barrera, in the 49th minute was more a result of his skill as he hit it one time with the outside of his right foot. To add more pain and misery, Carlos Bocanegra had a terrible giveaway which led to the final goal by Mexico's Giovani Dos Santos (an absurd chip over Lichaj on the far post).
These two bitter rivals aren't much different in overall talent level. The U.S. has the edge in goal and midfield while the Mexican forwards are far superior. However, the biggest mismatch is the porous U.S. defense trying to stop Dos Santos and Javier Hernandez (aka Chicarrito).
It didn't help that American fullback Steve Cherundolo went down with an injury and head to leave way too early (in the 10th minute). His sub Jonathan Bornstein and starter Lichaj were simply outclassed. Mexico always seemed to be on the verge of a breakaway or a great opportunity. Tim Howard can only do so much and none of the goals were really his fault; you can't always expect superhuman stops.
It's clear that the U.S. fullbacks have to get way better but there's no easy solution.
On the positive side, Adu is officially back on the map. After his nice cameo against Panama (1-0 win in Gold Cup semifinals, he played almost a full 90 minutes and proved to be one of the most dangerous Americans with the ball on his feet.
Dempsey had a relatively quiet game by his standards although he should have had a goal as his shot was ripped off the post in the second half.
There's no shame in losing to a quality side like Mexico but the U.S. has to win games that they lead by two goals. Mexico earned its spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup by not getting rattled and proving to be the much more dynamic offensive side. Once they grabbed the lead, they were able to play their Montreal Canadiens style game of flopping, faking injuries and wasting time.
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