With J Hutcherson -- No hard feelings for anyone otherwise occupied for last night's early game in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Self-assigned scouting missions for what the United States might see on Saturday night in Foxborough might have lost out for those that don't savor the prospect of midweek doubleheaders. Fair enough, perfectly understandable.
Here's a one-sentence summary of what you missed. Haiti is not very good. That point was amplified by the second game. Haiti looked strong against Honduras, and the United States showed what this version of Los Catrachos looks like when pushed.
Yes, Haiti also ended up with a two goal result on Wednesday. Thing is, that first goal is the odds-on favorite for softest of the tournament. The second was Haiti finally taking advantage of Grenada pushing up to get a likely equalizer. The first goal should have never happened. The second was a result of frustration mixed with risk.
Again, it was the second game that should have Haiti concerned. Without reservation, Honduras had moments in the first-half where they looked likely to score. The flow coming out of midfield was there, and Carlos Costly was doing his job. Honduras was physical, winning balls, and disrupting what we saw from the US midfield in Seattle.
Where the US excelled was in limiting meaningful final touches. Second to goals scored, the other meaningful statistic of the night was Honduras's two shots on goal. US keeper Troy Perkins rightly created the almost anonymous US defense for the job they did in the second half.
Even before the 64th minute substitutes that reworked the US attack, the defense was showing they could absorb pressure and still be involved in the push forward. Steve Cherundolo did mammoth work on his wing, winning balls and freeing up runs for Santino Quaranta while continually pushing forward. The handful of times Honduras had an advantage on his side, there was cover. The man marking on the left side included more than just Heath Pearce, leaving Honduras without a lot of attacking moves and pressure all the way up and down the flank.
Taking away those options, the US had Guatemala trying to get the ball in the air against Chad Marshall. He won a lot of those balls, further frustrating what Honduras was trying to do on the attack.
As you would expect, the result was trying things 1v1 and not getting that final touch. Breakup play in the attacking third is high risk, and the US defense deserves credit for not giving up multiple freekicks just around their box or resorting to using the back-line as an extra defender. Honduras ended up with two corners on the night. The US had eight. Honduras was called offside eight times. The US saw the flag once.
Put as much push against the inability of the US to get a goal in the opening hour as you want, but this was a comprehensive win. The work was there. In more ways than the final score, this was a result.
Comments, questions, solutions to problems that have yet to present themselves. Please, tell me all about it.
