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| Wednesday, April 17, 2002 21:29 EST |
Americans hurt by leaky defense
[Associated Press]
DUBLIN, Ireland -- If the United States plays defense like
this at the World Cup, the Americans are in for a short trip.
Despite the ugly weather, U.S. captain Claudio Reyna shined against Ireland. |
Ireland got around U.S. defenders to score a pair of goals and
defeated the Americans 2-1 Wednesday night in the last road game
for the United States before the World Cup.
Mark Kinsella reached a cross in front of Gregg Berhalter to score in the seventh
minute as the game at Lansdowne Road began in pouring rain. Eddie
Pope tied it for the United States in the 34th, but Ireland got the
winning goal in the 84th when Gary Doherty outjumped defender Tony
Sanneh and beat goalkeeper Kasey Keller.
"I am disappointed that we didn't walk away with a point
tonight, because we were in a position to manage the game in the
last 10 minutes and didn't do a good job," U.S. coach Bruce Arena
said. "So give Ireland credit for the second goal and the win."
While the Americans are 8-3 this year, they've lost all three
games in Europe, falling previously to Italy (1-0) and Germany
(4-2). The United States, which plans to announce its 23-man World
Cup roster on Monday, had most of its top players together for the
first time this year, and the starting lineup was a good indication
of the group that will take the field June 5 when the Americans
open World Cup play against Portugal.
Clint Mathis and Brian McBride started at forward, and Chris
Armas, John O'Brien, Claudio Reyna and Earnie Stewart opened in the
midfield.
With David Regis sidelined by a sprained knee, Jeff Agoos,
Berhalter, Pope and Sanneh started on a defense that had been the
backbone of the team in World Cup qualifying in 2000 and 2001. Brad
Friedel and Keller, competing for the starting job in goal, each
played a half.
"I thought their two goals were preventable, and it's something
we need to work on," Friedel said. "The good news is that it's
something we can work on."
The game, at a small 19th-century stadium that is home to both
Irish soccer and rugby, was played on a soggy surface that threw
both teams off their rhythm. Many passes bogged down in puddles
yards short of their target.
Undeterred by the typically Irish weather, thousands of locals
packed into the standing-room-only, unroofed ends of the stadium to
cheer on Ireland, which hasn't lost at home since 2000.
Ireland scored the first goal when Steve Finnan came down the
right side, overlapped Agoos and sent a cross to Kinsella, who beat
Berhalter and Friedel.
The Irish controlled most of the first half, with a series of
blunt tackles by U.S. defenders drawing gasps from the crowd, but
no yellow cards from the lenient Swiss referee, Philippe Leuba.
The Americans came back to tie after Ireland failed to clear
Reyna's corner kick, creating another corner kick from the opposite
side. O'Brien's kick went to Pope, who elevate above Rory Delap and
headed the ball into the net on a bounce.
"For the first 15 minutes we were unsettled, but then after
that we knew it was going to come down to getting a chance or half
chance and taking advantage of it," forward Brian McBride said.
"Games like that, where the conditions are bad, you don't expect a
whole lot of opportunities but you have to be ready when they
come."
Arena said he hadn't been sure O'Brien would play at all, after
the Dutch-based player fainted in the hotel lobby before the game.
The coach said he didn't know what was wrong but speculated it
might be "food poisoning or a virus."
Ireland, which plays Cameroon, Germany and Saudi Arabia in the
World Cup, scored the game-winning goal when Doherty latched onto a Steve Staunton free kick at the far post.
Just three exhibition games remain for the United States before
the World Cup, against Uruguay (May 12 at Washington), Jamaica (May
16 at East Rutherford, N.J.) and the Netherlands (May 19 at
Foxboro, Mass.).
The Americans, last in the 32-nation field at France, are
hopeful of a great improvement at this year's tournament, where
they also meet South Korea and Poland in the first round.
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