WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 22, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The US National Team finished their qualifying series with Barbados with a 1-0 win at Kensington Oval. Eddie Lewis, who also captained the US, scored the game's only goal in the 21st minute. Freddy Adu assisted.
"We started figuring out early that the third runner was going to be the key," Lewis said. "Their defenders were following our forwards, but they weren't doing such a good job of tracking midfield runs. I saw an opportunity to run through, and Freddy played a nice ball. I saw the 'keeper coming, and just tried to slip it through."
With a significantly different line-up, Bob Bradley's squad tried a mix of through balls and crosses with early success in displacing the Barbados defense.
“We make many decisions and we take a lot of things into consideration," US coach Bob Bradley said. "We had players from their MLS teams and our league is very important to us. We thought it was of value to give experience to others.”
With Eddie Johnson unavailable due to injury, the US was short on strikers starting DaMarcus Beasley and later bringing on the Chicago tandem of Chris Rolfe and Chad Barrett. It was Barrett's first cap. John Thorrington was also a second half sub, with all three Fire players getting time.
By the second half, Barbados was having success stopping the US attack and getting shots of their own.
"Barbados deserves a great deal of credit for the mentality that they brought to the pitch today," said Bradley. "From the start they played aggressively and tried to push the game more. In that regard, credit goes to their coaches for preparing the team well."
Unfortunately for Barbados, the US defense, the cross bar, and the offside flag took away their chances at an equalizer. Barbados ended the game with no shots on goal. The US scored on the one shot they kept on frame from nine attempts.
-- Game Report --
Match-up: USA vs. Barbados
Date: June 22, 2008
Competition: FIFA World Cup qualifier
Venue: Kensington Oval - Bridgetown, Barbados
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET
Attendance: TBD
Weather: Sunny and warm, 85 degrees
Scoring Summary:
1 2 F
USA 1 0 1
BRB 0 0 0
Scoring:
USA – Eddie Lewis (Freddy Adu) 21st minute.
Lineups:
USA: 18-Brad Guzan; 6-Drew Moor, 15-Jay DeMerit, 2-Danny Califf, 11-Heath Pearce; 10-Sacha Kljestan, 12-Michael Bradley, 8-Danny Szetela (14-Chris Rolfe, 66), 7-Eddie Lewis (capt.); 16-Freddy Adu (13-Chad Barrett, 86), 17-DaMarcus Beasley (12-John Thorrington, 79)
Subs not used: 1-Chris Seitz, 3-Carlos Bocanegra, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 9-Brek Shea
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
BRB: 1-Alvin Rouse, 5-Bryan Neblett, 6-Jonathan Straker, 7-Paul Ifill (capt.), 9-Marc McCammon, 11-Jonathan Nurse (12-Malcolm Marshall, 81), 13-Riviere Williams (8-Rondell Vaughan, 68), 14-Ramuel Miller, 15-Emerson Boyce, 16-Barry Skeete, 17-John Parris
Subs not used: 18-Adrian Chase, 2-Dyson James, 3-Daryl Ferguson, 4-Gregg Belle, 10-Arantes Lawrence
Head Coach: Eyre Sealy
Stats Summary:
USA BRB
Shots 9 3
Shots on goal 1 0
Saves 0 0
Corner Kicks 2 3
Fouls 11 7
Offside 5 4
Misconduct Summary:
none
Officials:
Referee: Roberto Williams (PAN)
1st Asst.: Daniel Williamson (PAN)
2nd Asst.: Hairo Fuentes (PAN)
Fourth Official: Luis Rodriguez (PAN)
Game Report courtesy of US Soccer Communications
