For the 3rd time in as many tournaments the title game matched the USA vs Mexico, for example. And it drew a sellout crowd of 93,420.
Aside from that, though, it was a match full of surprises — not the least of which was final score: 4-2 Mexico.
Consider that Mexico’s Javier Hernandez, who came into the game leading the tournament with 7 goals, did not score. Or that USA keeper Tim Howard, who hadn’t given up a goal in 3 ½ games, allowed four.
And then there’s USA Coach Bob Bradley. Criticized earlier in the tournament for his lack of creativity he looked like a strategic genius Saturday, giving starts to Freddy Adu and Landon Donovan, and watching them stake the USA Soccer to 2-0 lead.
While the USA was busy watching Hernandez, Pablo Barrera scored twice and Andres Guardado and Giovani Dos Santos had a goal apiece to give Mexico its 2nd consecutive Gold Cup title and a record 6th overall.
At stake Saturday was the region’s berth in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, the all-important tune-up to the next World Cup. Just as important, however, were regional bragging rights, something the USA and Mexico have been trading with regularity in recent years.
And this shootout started early, with Michael Bradley heading a Freddy Adu corner kick off the right arm of Mexican keeper Alfredo Talavera and into the net in the 8th minute.
Landon Donovan, who started the last 2 matches on the bench, briefly quieted the overwhelmingly pro-Mexican crowd in the 23rd minute, taking a deft pass from Clint Dempsey that split the defense before sending a left-footed shot into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
In less than 24 minutes the USA had scored as many goals as Mexico had allowed in its previous 5 matches combined. Yet the lead would last less than 15 minutes and the Americans wouldn’t score again.
First Hernandez, accustomed to being the finisher, became the distributor by sending a through ball up the right side to Barrera, who calmly beat Tim Howard just inside the near post.
Next Mexico took advantage of some confusion in the USA backline to tie the game when Eric Lichaj fumbled his chance to clear a Dos Santos shot, allowing Andres Guardado to pounce on the rebound, getting just enough of his boot on the ball the get it across the goal line.
Five minutes into the 2nd period Mexico went ahead to stay after Guardado chested down a loose ball down just outside the penalty area and fed Barrera moving through the box to his right. From there Barrera had an open shot at the far post and he didn’t miss.
The USA had 2 good chances at the equalizer but Talavera snatched Adu’s bending left-footed free kick just below the crossbar in the 58th minute and 2 minutes later Dempsey collected a loose ball from Bradley and loosed a left-foot rocket that struck the top of the goal.
Dos Santos finally closed things out with one of the best individual efforts of the tournament.
First he dribbled in on Howard to draw the keeper out of the box. Then with the keeper crawling after him, swiping with his hands at the ball, Dos Santos retreated, spun and lifted a rainbow toward to the far post, where it dropped just over a leaping Lichaj and into the goal.
Here’s how to kill off a game. Mexico turned nothing into a quite spectacular something when a ball being corralled in the corner by Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez rolled away to Gerardo Torrado and eventually found Giovani dos Santos in Tim Howard’s penalty area. What happened next was truly extraordinary.
The big United States goalkeeper came rushing off his line to intercept, so dos Santos danced away, leaving the Everton man flopping like a fish out of water and scrambling to get back into position. Dos Santos drew back, looked up, and laid in an awesome little chipped shot that sailed over the head of Michael Bradley and dropped inch-perfect in the space between Eric Lichaj’s leaping hair and the bottom of the crossbar at the far post. The goal made it 4-2 late on and sealed the victory for Mexico.
It was an astonishing finish, so naturally Howard threw a fit about it.
Source : http://www.allstatedaily.com
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