Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Scrappy match consistent with expectations

It's just after nine in the morning and I've had an entire pot of coffee and am suffering from post-adrenal letdown after having watched the US play Algeria in the must win match in South Africa.  And the contest wasn't a disappointment, on most levels.   It kept me at the edge of my seat and, I guess, for the price of admission you can't beat that.   We don't have cable,  so I was watching on Telemundo which I often do.  I consider it as secondary education: my ear is getting better and better at picking out the specific words in Spanish and increasingly knowing what the gist of the commentary means.  The weird thing this morning was that I thought for a few minutes that I was hallucinating.  The on-screen match caption showed that the teams were Estados Unidos v Argelia.  Felt like I was suddenly suffering dyslexia.  But I guess that in Spanish and Portuguese they've scrambled the letters to come up with that name and it's okay by me.


The game itself was fun to watch if frustrating for partisans of the US.  The Algerians throughout the tournament have looked more organized,  creative,  and hungry than their FIFA ranking would ever suggest.  (FIFA rankings being a whole 'nother kettle of fish)  This game was no different. Early on, the Algerians managed to get a look at goal when the American defense made a small error. Does that sound familiar?   Luckily Algeria has not shown great flare for putting the ball in the goal and the scare seemed to firm up our back line.  


Minutes later the US appeared to have their first goal on a shot at close range by Dempsey but the linesman's flag was up and the goal was called back.  Replays showed it to be a close thing but nowhere near the travesty that occurred in the game against Slovenia.   From that point on,  the first half settled into an end to end contest.  The Americans played aggressively and looked continuously to get the ball to Altidore.  For his part,  Altidore was repeatedly smacked, bumped, and otherwise knocked around anytime he took the ball.   Our side got the ball in close to goal repeatedly but the quality of service wasn't there .   The half ended with the sides even a nada y nada.   As they went to the dressing rooms, the announcers informed us that England was leading by a goal in the other match.   Not that the news added much pressure.  I think everyone was convinced that the US had to win this match regardless.   


The second half started with few changes in the lineups and the character of play reflected as much.  The US made an immediate rush and got into the box but then the cross was poorly placed. The clock ticked.   Perhaps emblematic of the whole feeling of being jinxed in the box was a dramatic attack about 57 minutes in.   Altidore engineered a breakaway down the right side and the ball ended up going to Dempsey who took a great, open shot which ricocheted off the right post toward the left side.  Dempsey had continued to run through and his rebound came back to him at which point he blasted it skyward! It's like a Bob Dylan song!  "How many times can a man shoot the ball??????"   The Algerians were continually probing around the top of the box and managed several times to get position and opportunity but no joy.   The clock ticked.  The cameras took to panning the crowd where partisans for both sides bit their nails,  faces painted and attired in national colors, but momentarily not making much noise.   The scrappy character of the contest was exemplified by the image of Dempsey going to the sidelines with a split lip and blood running down his chin after taking an arm in the face in a scrum in the box. 
The clock ticked.  Time ran out.  The officials added a four minute reprieve at the end.   And it took only two of those minutes to close the door on frustration and win a ticket to the round of sixteen.  In a fast paced attack,  Altidore took a blistering low shot which bounced loose from the Algerian keeper and fell to Donovan running in.  And so again, Donovan was man of the match, carrying his crew forward.   It's good to see because I suspect this will be Donovan's last World Cup. (He'll be thirty two in 2014 so it's not impossible he'd play again.)   Seconds later,  the Algerians had a last free kick opportunity and their frustration burst loose as the ball went over the end line.  I couldn't quite figure out what they were yelling about but they were in the referee's face.  Unfazed, he threw out their captain,  and the last minute of the game they played short.   


The news from the other match,  that England had won but with only a single goal,  gave me pleasure.  This group had been hard-fought and fun to watch (with the exception of a half-dozen moments of angst over bad luck or bad play).  The Algerians,  whose eyes reflected the pain of the loss,  can take pride in having done very well and having showed a world audience that they deserve more respect.   The US can take pride in having gotten through the first round this year without a loss and having shown real character in coming back in the Slovenian match as well as the England match.   I think the next level will require us to step up our play.  No lapses at the back.  Shooting on frame but not at the keeper.  And not leaving big spaces for unmarked opponents to maneuver in the middle.   Regardless,  I'll be there with my next pot of joe and a pocket of hopefulness.  

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