Landon Donovan once again saves the day! he, along with Clint Dempsey and the entire starting back four (DeMerit, Cherundolo, Bornstein, and Bocanegra), played stellar football today.
the goal that sealed the USA's advancement came on a counter-attack in which Donovan carried the ball the length of the field in extra time, passing it over to a black dude who crossed it at Dempsey's knee. Dempsey blasted it, and the keeper couldn't hold on. Donovan, who hadn't given up on the play, sent the rebound into the back of the net. what a well-earned goal!
the USA certainly played some exciting football today, though their repeated chances to scorewere either just a bit off target or snuffed by yet another save by the Algerian keeper, who played well. it took a few minutes for the back four to get settled in, having never played together as a unit before. but once they did, they played great. especially Bocanegra and DeMerit. he's so physical and wins every ball in the air.
meanwhile, the fleet-footed Bornstein (White) was replaced by the formerly-fleet-footed DaMarcus Beasley (black)late in the game,reducing the USA to 7 White outfield players. it was a strange substitution, since Bornstein is very, very swift and was playing well, while Beasley has lost a step or two and hasn't yet made an appearance in the tourney. in his time on the pitch, Beasleydid nothing except commit a silly foul and play a handball which drew a yellow card. a great replacement, indeed.
i won't say much about Altidore's blown goal, since it's been aptly described already. i would like to add that he stepped in front of Donovan to take the shot ... which he sprayed badly off-target.
another black forward, Edson Buddle did nothing once coming on except for blowing a scoring chance, of course. it is so typical for this "exciting playmaker," yet i'm still supposed to believe he is, in truth, an exciting playmaker.
another set of officiating miscues took place, as well. in addition to the earlier mentioned wrong offsides call against the USA, Clint Dempsey was caught square in the mouth with a closed fist, which caused his mouth to burst with blood. it should have been a straight red card, but the referee completely missed it. Algeria was wrongly called for an offsides when they had a great scoring opportunity. and finally, the refereegave the wrong Algerian player a red card for arguing with him.
for the USA, it was a tournament-saving goal. they advance to the round of 16, and almost incredibly they win the Group. for the officials, a miserable performance continues.
of course, after the game Alexi Lalas singles out for praise ... Josie Altidore.
seriously, WTF?!?!?
