Saturday, September 8, 2012
Well I Hope The U.S. Men Enjoyed Their Trip To Jamaica
Once again, I guess I should consider it a blessing in disguise that I wasn't able to watch a U.S. men's national team World Cup qualifier live (hello Guatemala earlier this summer) because if I had, I might have smashed my television or the remote.
The U.S. lost 2-1 in Jamaica last night at Independence Park aka The Office (the U.S. is 0-1-4 there), marking the first time in 19 meetings (1-10-8) that the Americans had fallen to the Jamaicans. Jamaica is now in first place in Group A with seven points, the U.S. and Guatemala are tied with four points and the same goal-differential after Guatemala rallied for a 3-1 win at Antigua and Barbuda last night.
The weird part is that Clint Dempsey scored 35 seconds in (fastest goal in U.S. World Cup qualifying history) but after that the U.S. couldn't mount any sort of attack. No doubt missing midfielders Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan (both out with injuries) hurt them severely.
Maurice Edu played a through ball to Herculez Gomez, his shot was saved but Dempsey (making his first appearance in 3 months) was there for the rebound. It was his 28th international goal and he has scored in all three World Cup qualifiers in 2012.
Jamaica scored both of its goals off of dangerous free kicks from the top of the box. In the 23rd minute, after a foul by Kyle Beckerman, Rodolph Austin hit a shot that deflected off Beckerman's legs (he was in the wall) and past Tim Howard.
In the 62nd minute, after a foul by Edu, Jamaica's all-time leading scorer Luton Shelton extended his record with his 34th international goal. Howard had no chance as it curled low and inside the near post.
These teams meet again on Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio. Thankfully, that will be broadcast live in the States (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET) so we can all watch it and don't have to rely on Twitter or sketchy gametrackers online. Needless to say, at worst the United States has to get a draw. A win would put them back in the right direction while a loss would further compound last night's disaster.
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