photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The U.S. men's national team got back on track in their road to the 2014 World Cup on Tuesday night and they did so with one of their more dominating performances under U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Four days after suffering a disappointing World Cup qualifying loss to Jamaica in Kingston, the United States rebounded by defeating the Reggae Boyz, 1-0, in in front of a sold-out crowd of 23,881 at Columbus Crew Stadium. The win gave the Americans seven points through their first four matches of the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, pulling them level with Guatemala and ahead of Jamaica by goal differential.
Herculez Gomez scored the winning goal in the match played on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, hitting a free kick in the 55th minute past Jamaica goalkeeper Dwayne Miller to end the U.S.'s run of bad luck. The Americans were the dominant side for much of the 90 minutes but hit the posts and crossbar a combined three times in a scoreless first half.
"The team did really well, especially what you saw (in) the first 30 minutes was outstanding," said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "The only thing that was missing was scoring goals. Posts unfortunately don't count. We said at halftime, 'We've got to keep pushing, we've got to force it, at moments you've got to force your luck' and it came with a beautiful free kick from Herculez.
"It was very important after that frustrating loss there Friday night in Kingston to come back and get in pole position."
Klinsmann not only changed the 4-4-2 diamond midfield formation from Friday's defeat to a 4-1-3-2, but he also made a few personnel moves that paid dividends for the Americans. The German-born coach played Danny Williams as a defensive midfielder and he also inserted Graham Zusi and Jose Torres on the outside of the midfield, which helped with possession and allowed for fullbacks Steve Cherundolo and Fabian Johnson to overlap and get involved in the attack.
That resulted in the U.S. seeing much of the ball from the opening whistle and they were able to get numbers forward and create several quality looks on goal. Unfortunately for the Americans, they were either denied by Miller or by the posts and crossbar.
Cherundolo, Zusi and Williams all had shots smack off the woodwork and the Americans were unable to find the back of the net despite having eight shots in the first half.
"You live through that," said Klinsmann. "I just wanted to make sure that we keep on pushing it, that they always kind of go for the next occasion. It was really important in my whole career as a striker, you can't get frustrated. You've got to stay hungry for the next one that comes and that's what I told them at halftime. Not even one negative thought you can have after missing or hitting the post or the crossbar.
"You've got to stay positive and force it and we had that sense from the team (that) they were very determined to do really well on a very special night. They really deserved it."
The breakthrough came 10 minutes after halftime. Clint Dempsey was fouled by Rodolph Austin from about 28 yards out and Gomez took full advantage of the opportunity by hitting a curling free kick that Miller got a hand to but could not push clear.
"It was unlucky for him but after all we did in the first half and hitting the posts and what not, we deserved a bit of luck," said Gomez. "In the first half I was taking free kicks and I was feeling confident with the way the ball was moving and how it was going for me so I was excited to pull the trigger there."
The Americans continued to push for another goal but Jamaica found some life as they broke out of their defensive shell and tried to win more possession. Tim Howard had to come up big on one play to deny Austin in the 80th minute, but aside from that the U.S. was not troubled much by the Reggae Boyz.
"Obviously we're back on track, we know it's not done yet, we know it's down to the wire. That's what World Cup qualifiers are all about," said Klinsmann. "We're going to be very, very sharp and focused going into Antigua and then at home in Kansas City playing Guatemala."
The United States is now tied on seven points with Jamaica and Guatemala in Group A. Guatemala topped Antigua and Barbuda, 1-0, in the other match on Tuesday.
The U.S. will round out group play with a pair of matches in October. The Americans visit Antigua and Barbuda on October 12 before playing Guatemala at home at Livestrong Sporting Park four days later.
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What do you think of the U.S.'s 1-0 win over Jamaica? Who impressed you? Impressed by the pro-U.S. crowd at Columbus Crew Stadium?
Share your thoughts below.
i that so too.
you had me at “boca were able to remain calm in the face of the pressure” didn’t you see him knocking the ball out of bounds for the corners late in the game? If jamaica is going to score is going to score in death ball plays.
🙂 you saw that too.
calming influence? then explain to me why we has easily conceding corner later in the game. doesn’t he know that is the only way Jamaica is going to score on us?
I don’t think this is true. we didn’t let off the gas, Jamaica came out playing after we scored on them, JK saw that Torres was starting to get runover and decided to sub him, also Zusi because of his yellow, the subs didn’t do their job which made the game a bit up in the air. hated when Boca was knocking the ball for corner, didn’t he get the memo…Jamaica can only score on dead balls plays.
i don’t think we bunkered because we scored. Jamaica took the game to us, JK made subs to counter that which didn’t do much help. For us to bunker it would mean we had no offense, we still did, it just wasn’t a walk in the park like the first half. It didn’t help for BOCA to conceed those corners toward the end of game, didn’t he get the memmo that is the only way Jamaica is going to score on us…Dead balls.
Yes. I thought overall Clint did not have a great game.
Plus 91% pass completion. If the Jamaica keeper hadn’t gone all Matrix the scoreline could have easily been 3-0, 4-0. What was most impressive was the turnaround from the last match. Every last thing that I thought led to the loss was addressed. Incredibly impressed not only by the performance but by the turnaround. That’s a credit to the coaches and the players.
Aw Shaggy, it’s such a shame you’re dealing wih the loss of Scoob by smoking crack and typing smack.
Yeah, I’m sure Antigua and Barbuda and Guatemala are going to listen to you. PSSSSSS!!!
What a joke. Do you have any idea what being outplayed iis like? The U.S. outplayed Jamaica in the first half and the second half was at best even. Give me a freaking break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have no idea what you are talking about.
I thought Klinsmann should have substituted for Dempsey rather than Gomez. Clint was the one who looked too tired and many of his touches showed it.
The US qwas clearly outplayed starting immediately after the goal. There was no question about it. We were lucky to survive.
Oh, so that’s what Crew Stadium looks like with people in it.
I thought the US lineup was one that was aimed at attacking a bunkered defense, which it appears L=Klinsmann expected. While they were doint that in the first 70 minutes they looked very good. However, when Jamaica had to leave theri own penalty area and started pressuring the US, the US attack and possession pretty much fell apart.
Note to Guatemala and Antigua, if you want to do well against the US, pressure them, expecially without Bradley and Donavon the number of players who can be pressured into easy give-aways is high. Once Jamaica upped the pressure nearly every US player looked a lot more suspect, even Cameron was unsettled, only Dolo and Boca were able to remain calm in the face of the pressure. I hope that Cameron, Zusi, and Johnson can learn from this. I expected more composure from Torres, Dempsey and Jones than I saw. I thought Williams and Gomez did OK under the pressure, but their exits might mean they simply had fewer chances to cough up the ball.
You cannot call a will be 35 year old a lock, we desperately need to find a replacement for dolo for 2014. Dolo is good for qualifying right now put lichjai, chandler, or someone else will need to be there come WC tIme.
This is crazy. Of course we were outplayed after the goal was scored. It’s not even debatable.
No, we were not outplayed in the second half. What game were you watching? The U.S. did not play like they did in the first half but were not even close to being outplayed.
Someone needs to post a pic of that scrunched up face Dempsey was making when taunting that Jamaica player after their little scuffle. Hilarious!!
I think it would have been similar to the Italy game where he struggled a bit early on, but then found the game. And Jozy did not sub on until we once again had 3 D mids in the game.
Very impressed with Danny Williams in his natural D-mid position. Pleasantly surprised at how well Graham Zusi played. I am still totally unimpressed with Torres after having high hopes for him–no penetrating passes or runs, AGAIN! I’d love to see Chandler and Lichaj back in the team. I also think Mixx Diskerud and Joe Corona bring more than Torres even at their young age.
We were outplayed before any of them came on. Jamaica was the better team beginning immediately after the goal .
Altidore, Shea and Edu did alot to lower our possession. They came on for skilled players: Gomez, Zusi and Williams.
After tonight I’d like to see this lineup vs Guatemala if everyone is healthy.
Dempsey Gomez
Donovan Bradley Zusi
Jones
Johnson Boca Cameron Dolo
Howard
After tonight Williams certainly proved that he will be a contender for that D mid spot but I think Klinsmann favors Jones too heavily to bench him.
Torres is NOT a wingers. He needs someone to play to his left otherwise he has to drift there. He belongs in the middle.
Meh. So the US can keep possession in the midfield without creating many chances, provided the opposition plays 9 behind the ball and applies no pressure. WHO CARES.
When the opposition goes forward and applies some pressure — which is what will happen in most important games — we are outplayed. The first 60 minutes were pretty irrelevant to the development of the team. Yes, got us the three point, which was vital, but we were outplayed as soon as the other team decided to play.
This game answered NONE of my questions about the future of the team.
Someday I’d like to see Williams in the center with Bradley
I can understand Coach’s idea to push Williams out wider since he’s played that before even if not as effectively, but he was getting it done so well where he was; team needs a Heather O’Reilly type sub, pace and skill who can serve it with quality. Shea’s getting the looks to be that player these days, some good results but not much tonight
For the Jozy haters …I think the present set up wastes his talent big time. No service on Friday. In the first half Gomez and Dempsey had no impact on the game because of the tight spaces. We’ve seen Jozy mix it up and he can play in tight spaces. He has the ability to take on defenders and make life difficult if he’s getting service. The lack of service has been sadly consistent so far this year. Gomez has been a key contributor but I am still not convinced he’s the longterm answer at forward.
With Torres… I thought he killed too many attacks by playing backward. He never tried to take on the defender on the wing. His crosses and shots were always a second too late.
Danny Williams and Zusi were fun to watch, however too many of Zusi and Cherondolo’s crosses were wasteful. We need consistent quality service.
Cameron is making a claim to be the indispensable center back. Good for him.
I think Jozy would have done what he did the game before and then for 10+ minutes more. He’s a slow big fellow who ironically is softer than he looks. Once he came in the possession went to crap, the giveaways mounted, and we started playing on our end.
I think he’s more useful against weaker or smaller teams that he can get headers on, or the occasional team like Italy who plays low pressure defense.
I think Klinsi did fine with the Fs. Where he needs a brain transplant is the midfield
co-signed.
We looked worse because IMO he reverted back to 3 dms plus Jozy in an attempt to clog. It’s pretty ironic that for our tiki-taka continental savior in practice he ends up trying to squeak out games with a defensive midfield like Bradley on steroids. Heck, I remember when 2 dms used to prompt aesthetic complaints. But 3?
+1
Dolo is a US all timer, and showed up ready to play tonight from the opening whistle, helped set the tone. a leader
I didn’t really notice an effective wingback effort until Fabian starting making the slashing runs, which were not actually chalk line jobs. I didn’t really think Dolo whacking crosses over heads was being effective in creating dangerous chances. That I felt was playing into Jamaica’s strengths.
I read articles asking if he was going to get his spot back from Parkhurst. Really, Dolo gets no respect. One of the top nats of all time and the best field career of any US player in Europe. (He will get passed for that, but he’s played top flight in Germany a lot of years.)
I just was saying the foot coming off the gas is the coach’s. I think the team earned the win by their pre-bunker increased effort.
High praise considering we’ve only actually had three coaches in the last decade
One goal under the Klinnsmann era and that was a penalty kick. Add that to poor work rate and poor passing.
I disagree I believe that Jozy paired with a player like gomez or dempsey would open up more more space for them to sneak into which is what they do very well.
Everyone is missing the real issue. My respect for Danny Williams went way down when I noticed he has a tramp stamp tattoo. What a way to ruin an awesome performance overall…….
Agree.
Shea came on to be a game changer…. and looked about 2 steps behind everything. Both his feet and his head were WAY too slow.
And Gomez actually scores for the USA at a higher rate, as opposed to leading us on. So what?
I thought he did well, but the only hesitation is that Jamaica had no interest in attacking most of the game so he was under little pressure. Need to see him with more pressure on him before deciding.
Tonight we HAD more wing back attack.
Cherundolo was very goodboth defensively and pushing forward.
And Fabian had showed did well in front of Jamaica’s box – as well as breaking things up on the left side. HUGE difference from 5 days ago.
I think Klinsi brought Alitdore on for his size and strength… But he plays like a guy 50 lbs lighter and 4 inches shorter.
I would have rather seen Boyd than Edu, as well.
A very good first 60 minutes.
I think your criticism of Altidore is a bit harsh. He had 22 goals last year for AZ, so it’s not like he had two fluke games.
I take it you didn’t watch the game tonight.
great call. for the win tonight too
if you watched any of his goals this year, and any of his goals last year, which by the way gave him the 7th highest total and the best for his team, you’d see that altidore has got some game. He has pretty good touch
Yeah I think this one would have opened up more if Greco-Roman wrestling holds were barred. He was not helping us whatsoever “letting them play.” Bunker team’s dream ref. “Just don’t hit him with the wrench when I’m looking.”