US Earns Late Tie Against Mexico
It was a trio of MLS players that took the spotlight away from Jurgen Klinsmann in his debut as the USMNT coach. The entrance of Brek Shea, Juan Agudelo and Robbie Rogers provided an offensive flare that was missing from the US attack for most of the game.
Things did started out promising for the Americans. In the 6th minute Michael Bradley sent a through ball out wide to Donovan on the right. Donovan sent a ball in from outside of the box, but the cross was just too tall for Buddle and ended up beyond the reach of Jermaine Jones who was making a run far post.
However, after this attacking run it didn’t seem that the coaching change had any immediate effect on the US style of play. Lone striker Edson Buddle was all but invisible in the first half and Michael Bradley seemed to have trouble fitting into his role as an attacking midfielder. Any promising build up came from the right side through Landon Donovan and Steve Cherundolo, but more often than not Cherundolo was hesitant to send in crosses and the ball would either end up being played to the back line or given away to a pressing Mexican defense.
Mexico looked far superior in the attack; controlling the ball for the majority of the half and making several runs at the US back line that was an even mix of experience and youth. Despite the consistent pressure in the first half Mexico never forced a save from Howard and was only able to find the back of the net once thanks to a bit of luck. In the 17th minute Andrés Guardado sent in a cross into the box from the right side. Oribe Peralta was able to get a foot on with Bradley right on his hip and redirect the ball past Howard into the far side of the goal.
The rest of the half was fairly uneventful except for a minor altercation involving Cherundolo and Guardado that led to both teams converging for a bit of a shoving match.
Going into halftime the US was in dire need for more offensive flare. Although Klinsmann said during halftime that he was pleased with how the team had been attacking, the US did not get a single shot off in the first half and struggled to win the ball and keep possession once they did. However, at the half no substitutions were made by the Americans and the second half started the way the first ended.
Mexico nearly added a second goal in the 52nd minute when Rafael Marquez lost his defender during a corner kick. Although Bocanegra made an attempt to reach the New York defender, Marquez was able to get on the end of the cross with little pressure. Luckily for the US Marquez’s header ended up on the wrong side of the near post.
After 56 minutes the US finally got their first shot of the match from Bocanegra. Much like Mexico’s change a few minutes earlier, Bocanegra found himself unmarked when he got on the end of Donovan’s corner kick. Bocanegra put his shot on frame, but a great reflex save from Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa kept his team’s lead intact.
At the hour mark Klinsmann made the first two of three subs that would change the game in the US’ favor, bringing on Brek Shea and Juan Agudelo for Jones and Buddle, adding an offensive spark to a stagnant US attack. Eventually Robbie Rogers would also come on for Bradley who never really seemed comfortable.
In the 73rd minute, all three of Klinsmann’s substitutions combined for the US’s tying goal. Agudelo received a quick throw deep in Mexico’s defending third and found Shea running into the box. Shea took the ball down to the goal line and played a low cross across the face of goal where an unmarked Robbie Rogers tapped the ball into the open net.
The US could have pulled ahead in the 86th minute thanks again to the trio of MLS subs. Shea cleared a Mexican free kick out of the US box to Agudelo. Agudelo collected the ball then turned and played a long ball into space for Rogers. Rogers got behind the Mexican defenders, but was pulled down from behind by Gerardo Torrado before he could get close enough for a chance on goal. Despite protests from the US players, Torrado was only given a yellow card for the foul.
It was not a bad first game for Klinsmann. Though his team had a rough first half, the late substitutions and resulting formation changes gave the US players the push they needed to take control of the game and earn a draw.
Scoring Summary
MEX – Oribe Peralta (Andres Guardado) 17th minute
USA – Robbie Rogers (Brek Shea) 73
Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 5-Michael Orozco Fiscal, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.), 2-Edgar Castillo; 7-Kyle Beckerman 4-Michael Bradley (16-Robbie Rogers, 72), 8-Jermaine Jones (17-Brek Shea, 60) ,10-Landon Donovan, 11-Jose Torres (15-Ricardo Clark, 84); 9-Edson Buddle (18-Juan Agudelo, 60)
Subs not used: 12-Bill Hamid, 13-Zach Lloyd, 14-Heath Pearce
MEX: 1-Guillermo Ochoa, 16-Efrain Juarez (22- Paul Aguilar, 75), 4-Rafael Marquez (2-Francisco Javier Rodriguez, 69), 15-Hector Moreno, 3-Carlos Salcido; 7- Pablo Barrera (21-Christian Bermudez, 72), 6-Gerardo Torrado, 17-Antonio Naelson (10-Giovani dos Santos, 55), 8-Israel Castro, 18-Andres Guardado; 19-Oribe Peralta (9-Omar Arellano, 62)
Subs not used: 11-Javier Aquino, 12- Alfredo Talavera, 13-Jesus Zavala, 20-Jorge Torres Nilo
Stats Summary: USA / MEX
Shots: 6 / 7
Shots on Goal: 3 / 1
Saves: 0 / 2
Corner Kicks: 2 / 4
Fouls: 8 / 16
Offside: 0 / 4
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