USA defeat Australia in 3-1 victory but both teams seem unprepared
Even for a World Cup friendly match, there was scarcely any action or drama on the pitch. Both sides appeared too comfortable on the field and the match was dearth of defending, with poor finishing by both sides.
David Beckham watched from the stands as his United States Men’s National Team put on a performance that will have many doubting whether they will advance into the second round. Mistakes were made and perceptible opportunities to net the ball lost by both teams. The United States used Edson Buddle’s efforts made in the first half to keep the team steady and eventually lead them to a 3-1 win against Australia in the last warm-up match played by both sides before the World Cup starts.
Although Australia dominated the ball possession, it was Edson Buddle who made the first goal in the fourth minute of the first half. Buddle stole the ball from a pressurized Vincenzo Grella who was 18 yards from the penalty area, clipped the ball to the right and sent it flying over Schwarzer’s shoulder.
In the 15th minute, Robbie Findley somehow managed to miss an excellent opportunity to net a goal and double the score. He beat the offside trap and found himself alone in the front only to shoot a wide shot.
Tim Cahill of Australia equalized in the 19th minute with a corner kick from Luke Wilkshire. Cahill broke through the defences of Carlos Bocanegra and DeMerit and he made a shoot from 6 yards.
Schwarzer made a remarkable save in the 27th minute when Fulham club-mate Dempsey broke in after Donovan put him clear, but Schwarzer parried the ball away from the goal post.
Buddle put United States back in the lead after Steve Cherundolo dashed down the right side, crossed to Buddle who hit a header 4 yards from the goal post in the 31st minute. This summed up to make Buddle’s second international goal.
South African referee Abdul Ebrahim awarded a yellow card to Dempsey and Craig Moore in the 37th minute. The later tackled Dempsey and was met with shove back at him.
Blake Kennedy missed various chances including one in the 34th minute and another just a few minutes after the kick-off. Kennedy could not time his movement and let the ball go wide.
Howard and Cahills were both replaced by Marcus Hahnemann and Carl Valeri at the start of the second half.
Into the 52nd minute, Donovan made a measured pass to Buddle who crossed to Robbie Findley. The man wasted another glorious opportunity and hit the ball at the crossbars. The Aussie made a commendable effort when he parried skywards the rebound picked by Bradley. The ensuing rebound was headed into the net by Dempsey only to be called off as an offside.
Coach Bob Bradley replaced Captain Carlos Bocanegra in the 55th minute with Jonathan Bornstein. The US captain, who has yet to fully recover, did not play a very active game. Six minutes later, Dario Vidosic took Jason Culina and Onyewu substituted Clarence Goodson's. Oguchi Onyewu tipped the ball to the corner in favour of the opposition and throughout the half hour on field he appeared uneasy and flustered.
Richard Garcia went to the bench only to be replaced by Nikita Rukavytsya in the 72nd minute.
Australia maintained ball possession over the second verse of the 2nd half but could not succeed in scoring, despite goalie Marcus Hahnemann’s wavering decisions but he did make some spectacular saves. Still, Hahnemann’s poor performance might ruin his chances before the World Cup begins and now Brad Guzan maybe under consideration as Number Two after Howard.
Grella was given a yellow card in the 76th minute when he tackled DaMarcus real hard.
Herculez Gomez, who replaced Dempsey in the 82nd, took full advantage of the ball that Donovan delivered and scored in the injury time.
It was a match never to be broadcasted to show team performances just before the start of the World Cup. The tournament about to kick off on 11th June, both teams showed dismissive passing and their finishing was far from being finesse. Though the Americans pulled it from the Socceroos the score should not be misread. Both teams need to focus harder and play a more attentive game.
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