Thursday, July 21, 2005

US "heads" to the final

In the final seconds of a thrilling match, Oguchi Onyewu heads in his first goal for the US national side granting them their ticket to the Gold Cup finals on Sunday.

Landon Donovan got an assist for the goal when his free kick found Onyewu by the near post. Onyewu's goal ended a fantastic final 15 minutes for the US side. The US was able to accomplish this even though Bruce Arena (coach) was ejected in the 58th minute for arguing a no call. Arena's ejection seemed to awaken the US squad. This awakening resulting in an equalizer in the 86th minute by John O'Brien. This was O'Brien's first national team goal since the 2004 World Cup.

My first reaction to this match is that the US was really weak during the first 35 minutes. An injury to Eddie Pope in the 13th minute seemed to throw off the initial game plan. Honduras was able to take advantage of this in the 31st minute with a nice goal by Ivan Guerrero (assist from Nunez). However, Honduras lost their keeper in the closing minutes of the first half, thus both sides had to shift tactics.

This was a fantastic match.

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