Gooooooaaaaaalllllll!!!!!!!
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Soccer — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
USA! USA! USA!
But not without controversy
The United States men's national team remained on course Thursday to retain the Concacaf Gold Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Canada in their semifinal at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Americans will meet archrival Mexico on Sunday afternoon.
A fine strike by Frankie Hejduk in the 39th minute and yet another Landon Donovan penalty on the stroke of halftime capped a commanding opening half for Bob Bradley's team, and the Americans seemed on course to cruise through the remainder of the match against a subdued Canada. But when substitute Iain Hume pulled a goal back for the visitor in the 76th minute, and United States midfielder Michael Bradley was sent off in the 88th minute with a straight red card, and then the Canadians had a legitimate goal by Atiba Hutchinson disallowed for offside by Mexican referee Benito Archundia in the dying seconds, you might be forgiven for thinking this was just another ride on the Concacaf rollercoaster for the United States.
If any controversy does end up following the United States into the final match, it would be a great pity. The U.S. has played brilliantly in the Gold Cup tournament and it certainly deserved to make its appearance in the finals free of any lingering doubt that it belongs there.
Today, which Landon Donovan swiftly buried (or not so swiftly, as he does Nomar's batter's box routine before taking penalties).
I thought it was legit, but I imagine there is much lamenting of the call south of the border.
"My heart was here...I feel like I have unfinished business here." - Roy Hibbert