The U.S. men's national team will kick off the new year tonight looking for a win against a familiar foe in Honduras at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California (9pm ET, FSC and Telefutura).
While tonight's match won't have most of the U.S. team regulars, there are potential World Cup spots up for grabs, so it should be interesting to see how the fringe players fare in one of their last opportunities to impress head coach Bob Bradley.
As always, we will be providing commentarythroughout the match so please feel free to follow along here, and as always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
FINAL- That's all from me tonight. Please feel free to share your thoughts on tonight's match in the comments section below, and look for coverage of the game on SBI tomorrow. Good night folks.
—————–
FINAL- Despite the disappointing start to the year, the Americans have a chance to bounce back in the February 24 friendly vs. El Salvador in Tampa, Florida. It will be interesting to see just which of these players return/start.
—————–
FINAL- The U.S. team's attack was much improved once the myriad of subs came in, but by then it was too late. Who didn't look good tonight? Conrad, Kljestan, Marshall and Wynne.
Some of the top U.S. players tonight? Jonathan Bornstein looked good, as did Davis, Bedoya, Findley and Goodson.
—————–
FINAL- Honduras 3, USA 1. The U.S. team's slow start ultimately cost it its first loss to Honduras in the the last five meetings. Jimmy Conrad's questionabe second yellow card in the 17th minute paved the way for Honduras, but Los Catrachos threatened the U.S. backline all night, especially down the Americans' right flank.
—————–
94th minute- A smooth first touch from Pearce helps create some nice build-up play for the U.S., and Casey gets a good look, but he hits his shot wide.
—————–
91st minute- Even though he has spent much of the night playing at center back, Bornstein has played well.
—————–
89th minute- McCarty's corner find Bedoya, who heads it just behind the far post.
—————–
89th minute- Davis hits a potent free kick, but Escober hits it clear for a U.S. corner.
—————–
88th minute- Findley picks up a foul just in front of the 18. Dangerous free kick here.
—————–
87th minute- Perkins keeps the score respectable with a great 1-v-1 save. U.S. caught pushing too far up.
—————–
83rd minute- 18,626 in attendance at the Home Depot Center tonight. What percentage of that would you say was Honduras supporters?
—————–
81st minute- Honduras earns its third corner kick of the night, but nothing comes of it.
—————–
79th minute- Good cross from Bedoya gets punched away by Escobar.
—————–
78th minute- Georgie Welcome is being subbed in for Pavon, who started the fun for Honduras tonight with his goal from the penalty spot.
—————–
77th minute- Feilhaber blasts a shot from distance wide, and that will be his last touch of the game. McCarty coming in for Feilhaber, who was wearing the captain armband for the first time in his national team career.
—————–
75th minute- Some new found life from the U.S. team. They are getting forward much better.
—————–
71st minute- Goodson follows up his second international goal by taunting the Honduras supporters behind goal. Escober is hurting after the collision with Goodson on that goal. A foul could have been called there, but the goal stands and the U.S. has gained some momentum.
—————–
70th minute- GOAL USA! Clarence Goodson climbs up and heads a corner kick from Davis into the back of the net! 3-1.
—————–
68th minute- Walter Martinez in for Carlos Garcia for Los Catrachos.
—————–
64th minute- Wynne with a Stree-FIghter like challenge. No card given. That call's a bit surprising.
—————–
62nd minute- Honduras makes a switch as well. Ramon Nunez for Jerry Palacios, author of today's second goal.
—————–
59th minute- A quartet of U.S. players being subbed in. Pearce comes in for Marshall, Casey in for Beckerman, Bedoya in for Kljestan and Davis comes in for Robbie Rogers. Bedoya earns his first cap.
—————–
57th minute- Kljestan makes a nice pass to Rogers, whose first touch let him down. Still, Rogers looking much better now than in the first half.
—————–
54th minute- Wynne is getting up the touchline well, and his crosses have been decent. His defending? Not so much.
—————–
52nd minute- Espinoza's finish was too easy. Marshall and Bornstein left him onside.
—————–
52nd minute- GOAL HONDURAS!!! 3-0! Roger Espinoza stabs a dagger into the heart of the U.S. by taking advantage of a deep backline, and slotting home a shot from close range.
—————–
51st minute- Rogers clipped from behind by Guevara, who is awarded a yellow card for his troubles. Kljestan takes the free kick from distance, but skies his shot over.
—————–
50th minute- WOW! Rogers unleashes a potent right-footed shot that smacks off the right post! So close.
—————–
48th minute- Some nifty passing from Honduras gets them a shot on goal, but it is a routine save for Perkins.
—————–
46th minute- Second half begins, and the U.S. has made a change. Clarence Goodson comes in, and out goes Jeff Cunningham. Not the best of days for Cunningham, but he was starved of service. Rogers back to left mid, and Findley up top by his lonesome.
—————–
HALFTIME- So what can Bob Bradley do to erase this two-goal deficit? Inserting Alejandro Bedoya wouldn't surprise me. I could also see Casey or McCarty stepping onto the field for Cunningham and Kljestan.
—————–
HALFTIME- Credit to Honduras, though. Los Catrachos have pressed well, and have pretty much stifled the U.S. attack.
—————–
HALFTIME- Archundia blows the whistle to end a relatively miserable first 45 minutes for the U.S. team. Definitely not the first half to the new year that most were hoping for. 2-0, Honduras.
—————–
45th minute- Feilhaber looking sharper now. Touch and passes look better.
—————–
44th minute- Guevara with a foul on Feilhaber. That should have been a yellow.
—————–
42nd minute- And as I say that, Kljestan makes a nice move around a defender.
—————–
40th minute- Not much from Kljestan today. With six subs available tonight, maybe Bradley replaces him at half-time.
—————–
37th minute- Espinoza lays a ball out to the left, and Pavon has all day before picking out Jerry Palacios with a pinpoint cross. Palacios with a nice diving header to double the lead. Looked to me like Marshall got caught ball-watching there.
—————–
37th minute- GOAL HONDURAS!! 2-0! Jerry Palacios with the finish!
—————–
36th minute- A shot from Palacios goes just wide! Honduras almost made it two.
—————–
33rd minute– Feilhaber sends a good ball to switch the point of the attack and Wynne makes a run down the flank before hitting a wayward cross. Not the dream end result, but much better build-up there.
—————–
32nd minute- Findley and Cunningham have been starved for service so far, and Rogers has not look too sharp. Have to give Rogers some leeway since he is playing basically two positions.
—————–
28th minute- Honduras is pressing well. And they force a Feilhaber turnover deep in the U.S.'s half, which almost results in a second goal.
—————–
25th minute- Perkins sends a free kick out of bounds. Ugly, ugly, ugly.
—————–
24th minute- Honduras asking for a penalty kick after a shot in the box hits Wynne on the arm. Archundia says no and it is the right call. Wynne's arm was stuck to his body with no intention of handling it.
—————–
23rd minute- Bornstein makes a nice slide tackle to prevent a shot.
—————–
22nd minute- Bornstein is now playing center back and Rogers has turned into a left wing back. Rogers shouldn't feel too unfamiliar with that spot. He played there in the final Olympic group stage match against Nigeria in 2008 when Michael Orozco was awarded a red card.
—————–
21st minute- The U.S. gets a corner and Marshall gives the U.S. its first good chance of the day with a header that goes just a bit high. Close, though.
—————–
19th minute- GOAL!!! Honduras is up 1-0 as Pavon beats Perkins from the spot. The U.S. is trailing with a man down.
—————–
17th minute- Conrad given a second yellow for a foul off the ball, and he is sent to the showers early. Not sure about that one.
—————–
17th minute- Some quick passing creates the first opportunity of the night, but now Archundia has awarded a penalty kick to Honduras! WOW.
—————–
14th minute- Guevara with some nice vision to send in a long ball behind Wynne, but it bounces out of bounds. Honduras is taking advantage of the spaces behind the back four.
—————–
11th minute- Wynne almost springs Findley with a long pass. Findley showed a good burst there.
—————–
10th Minute- Good move by Bornstein to create some space for himself, but his cross is a bit weak.
—————–
9th Minute- Jerry Palacios is given a yellow card for diving in the box. Each team with an early yellow.
—————–
8th Minute- Honduras with some nice possession, and the team's supporters begin to shout "Ole!"
—————–
6th Minute- Yellow card on Conrad for a foul on a would-be breakaway. Kind of harsh by referee Armando Archundia.
—————–
4th Minute- U.S. earns its first corner kick of the game, and it gets cleared away.
—————–
3rd Minute- Honduras looked poised to punish the U.S., but Perkins comes out and collects a dangerous-looking cross.
—————–
2nd Minute- Marvell Wynne sends a long ball to no one. Wynne may have rushed himself there.
—————–
1st Minute- And we're off. The fifth encounter between these two teams in the past year begins.
—————–
PRE-GAME- Jimmy Conrad with the captain's armband tonight. Hard to argue that decision.
—————–
PRE-GAME- It's Saturday, how about a drinking game? Drink for every time Christopher Sullivan makes up a word throughout the broadcast. Hope you guys have enough.
—————–
PRE-GAME- Much has been said about Jonathan Bornstein's goal that saw Honduras qualify for the World Cup. Wonder if the Honduran attack will be kind and just attack down the U.S. team's right flank. Kidding…
PRE-GAME- How the U.S. defense can cope with Amado Guevara's attacking prowess could be a major key to tonight's game.
—————–
PRE-GAME- FSC talking about Kljestan right now and how he impressed in last year's January friendly vs. Sweden, where he scored a hat-trick in the 3-2 win. It can be argued that that game was probably his last impressive match in a U.S. jersey.
—————–
PRE-GAME- Here is Honduras' line-up: Escobar, Norales, Pavon, Palacios, Martinez, Espinoza, Turcios, Guevara, Palacios, Izaguerre, Sabillon.
—————–
PRE-GAME- Still waiting for Honduras' starting XI.
—————–
PRE-GAME- The forward pairing of Cunningham and Findley will be interesting to watch, as will the performance by Sacha Kljestan, who is starting in his first international match since the Brazil blunder in the group stages of the Confederations Cup.
—————–
PRE-GAME- No Omar Gonzalez on the bench may come as somewhat of a surprise to U.S. fans, but to be fair, he was not going to surpass Goodson on the centerback depth chart before this World Cup. Gonzalez is one to look out for next cycle.
—————–
PRE-GAME- U.S. team's subs: Rimando, Goodson, Pearce, McCarty, Bedoya, Casey, Davis.
—————–
PRE-GAME- Here is the U.S. team's starting XI:
————————Perkins———————–
–Wynne——–Conrad——Marshall—–Bornstein–
-Kljestan——-Feilhaber—Beckerman——Rogers-
—————Cunningham——-Findley—————
—————–
PRE-GAME- It's Franco Panizo and I will be providing tonight's commentary and observations. Still awaiting the U.S. team's starting XI.