Thursday, June 23, 2011

US V Panama - Late Dempsey Goal sets up Dream final with Mexico


US’s Strategy
    Bob Bradley elected to keep the same 4-2-3-1 formation that worked well v Jamaica on Sunday. Surprisingly, Landon Donovan started on the bench once again. The only change was Juan Agudelo in for the injured Jozy Altidore as the central striker.
Panama’s Strategy
    The Red Tide came into the match without their striker Blas Perez, who was sent off v El Salvador. Quintero replaced Perez and Panama played a 4-4-1-1. Luis Tejada played as the lone striker and saw very little of the ball. Although he did well to bother the US center backs when they had possession. Barahona played behind Tejada as a withdrawn striker.
     Panama's strategy was to sit back and allow the US to keep possession in non-dangerous areas. However, they wanted to play on the counter attack but were unable to transition from defense to offense quickly to create a chance.
Dull First 60 minutes
    With Panama playing a deep defensive brand of soccer, the onus was on the US to create chances and take them out of their shell.
   The pace of the game was slow, possibly because the pitch looked patchy and soft. It seemed like the ball would bobble constantly on the bumpy pitch, making it hard to control. Also contributing to the slow pace of the game was referee Enrico Wijngaarde, who whistled for a tremendous number of fouls on each side.
    The best chance in the opening half for either side came for the US in the 25th minute. Steve Cherundolo found space on the right side after overlapping past Bedoya. He swung in an inch perfect cross to Juan Agudelo. Agudelo's run gave him enough separation to get his head on the cross but his effort came off the near post and Panama cleared.
    Bob Bradley must have gone into the locker room pleased with the defense but frustrated that his side could only create one chance. The US lacked creativity and movement off the ball. Also, the ball moved very slowly around the pitch, often times Goodson or Bocanegra taking far too many touches instead of passing the ball quickly. Also, the American players lacked the confidence to take on a defender in the dribble one v one.
    Panama should be commended for their ability to execute their defensive game plan and were hardly troubled by the Yanks attack. They would have been happy to keep the match nil-nil as long as possible.
    To breathe life into the match, Bradley made a substitution at the intermission. Landon Donovan was brought in for Sasha Kljestan. Kljestan was finding room in the center but his first touch was poor and some of his passes were misplaced. Bradley put on Donovan to try and pick up the pace of the US attack.
Game comes to life with each team needing to score
    Even with the substitution of Donovan; the Americans could not find space at the start of the half.
    In the 61st minute, Panama nearly tested Tim Howard. Henriquez skinned Cherundolo on the left side and swung in a low cross that Quintero nearly poked on target. The half chance was the first time Panama threatened the American goal.
     Bob Bradley further surprised US supporters with the introduction of Freddy Adu for Juan Agudelo in the 66th minute. One caveat, the Keeping a Clean Sheet team cheered when they showed Freddy entering the pitch. Adu was able to provide the spark the US needed. He went over on the right, with an occasional position swap with Landon in the middle. Dempsey went up top and Bedoya shifted to the left wing.
     Freddy’s first touch on the right side displayed his ability and willingness to take on a defender and try and beat him. This confidence and attempt at skill was missing for the Americans.
     In the 76th minute, the Americans finally broke the Red Tide. Panama pushed up on a corner. The ball was cleared and eventually Bedoya and Bradley combined, with Adu receiving the ball in the center circle. Adu looked up and launched a left footed through ball down the right side hitting Donovan in stride. Landon took the ball down the right side and sent in a hard, low cross in front of goal. Dempsey was there at the back post and did well to get a foot in before Machado could clear. It should be noted that the replays indicated Dempsey was in an offside position, which should have canceled out the goal.
     Panama then switched to a 4-3-3 to try and level the match. However, they failed to threaten Tim Howard’s clean sheet.
     Buoyed by the goal, the Yanks were confident in possession. In the 87th minute Freddy went past two defenders down the right side and squared the ball to Michael Bradley who tried to pick out Dempsey instead of testing Penedo’s goal. In the 89th minute, rarely seen by the US side, the team pinged the ball around the pitch for over 20 passes, even drawing a few ole’s from the supporters.
Conclusion
    The Americans struggled in the first 60 minutes to trouble Penedo's goal but deserved to go through to the final. Panama hardly tested Tim Howard and looked fatigued by the end of the match.
    The Panamanian performance in this tournament deserves praise. They won the group over the Americans and fell in the semifinal where it seemed like they ran out of gas.
    With Mexico ousting Honduras in extra time, the dream final is set for Saturday night at the already sold out Rose Bowl.

     Look out for our preview of the final v Mexico tomorrow. Follow us on twitter @kpngacleansheet. Also, Like us on Facebook.

4 comments:

  1. Dempsey was clearly NOT offside! He was past his own marker, but the defender marking Donovan kept Dempsey onside.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0hOIrAI-nY

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  2. I've heard it said if you don't know who your starting 11 are, there are problems. It will be VERY interesting to see who Bradley starts on Saturday.

    I like bringing in Donovan as a supersub, but I think he needs to start. I think the defense is strong enough we can take be more aggressive on offense early. Kjlestan and Bedoya have looked smart but lacked production--they would work well as subs if the U.S. is winning and for moving to a more possession-oriented game. Here's what I'd like to see:
    Agudelo
    Dempsey Adu Donovan
    Jones Bradley
    Lichaj Bocanegra Goodson Cherundolo


    I'd love to read your thoughts on the Mexico-Honduras match.

    J

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  3. "The US lacked creativity and movement off the ball. Also, the ball moved very slowly around the pitch, often times ... taking far too many touches instead of passing the ball quickly. Also, the American players lacked the confidence to take on a defender in the dribble one v one." This pretty much describes the tournament. The US is good at getting the ball and moving towards final third. That's where it dies. No confidence and danger. Slow thinking, movement, passing, and no one beating opponents 1v1 is not causing defenses to move. They just sit and wait for obvious hopeful passes.

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  4. Adu doesnt have the fitness to start now. I thought Bedoya and Agudelo did well. They were creative and took on players and produced mostly positive results, i.e. corners, throw-ins deep in territory or pressuring the defense into long passes. Sacha had 7 give-aways in teh first 30min. Agree about Boca and Goodson with slow distribution, also add MB to the slow distribution list.

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