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Highlights from US-Mexico Game

February 8th, 2007 | By: Connor Fabiano | 10 Comments »

I just returned from my trip to Glendale, Arizona to watch the US-Mexico friendly, so I dipped into my private media library (YouTube) and uncovered a few files.

The embedded video shows both goals of the night: Conrad’s and Donovan’s. The commentary is in Spanish, but it shows a good angle on both of the goals.

If you look closely at the “cut” between Conrad’s goal and Donovan’s, you’ll notice that the Spanish version chose to begin playing the clip at the precise moment in which the ball deflects off of the referee (so you never see the Mexican player pass the pall into him). To give you an American perspective (and American commentary), there are also these two clips:

Conrad 52nd minute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDT-a6lxa8o

Donovan - 90th minute (shows the pass into the referee):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOqYhKKhs78

The second goal was definitely a “gift” given to the Americans, however it was in no way illegal. The referee should have done a better job and he made an important mistake. It most likely did not affect the overall outcome however, as the Mexicans would still have had to score a goal in 4 minutes - something which they failed to do for the previous 90. Donovan’s move past the two Mexican defenders is impressive, beating them on speed alone. Rather than a lucky “gift,” I prefer to view this goal as a “reward” for a good effort.

Tags: Friendly, Highlights, Mexico, USA

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Comments

By Sam | February 8th, 2007 at 8:46 pm

Oh man, are the Mexicans never going to shut up about that second goal. But a great finish, and Conrad’s header was nothing short of perfect. Thanks for the vids!

Posted from Canada

By Laurie | February 8th, 2007 at 9:17 pm

A reward. I’m laughing. My French guys totally deserved a reward like this one yesterday too!

Posted from United States

By Evan | February 9th, 2007 at 12:29 pm

What a great start to Bradley’s tenure as coach. Since nobody has done this yet, here are my ratings for the game:

Howard: 6. Shaky first play or two, but good positioning from then on.

Albright: 3. Consistently beat and gave attacking players way too much room to manoeuver.

Conrad: 7.5. Right place, right time for header. Completely shut down Mexican attackers.

Bocanegra: 6.5 - Excellent defense throughout.

Bornstein: 6. Starting to really like this kid. Tenancious on defense, and even when beat, had the speed to rectify his mistakes. Excellent job of making runs up the side and joining the attack. At one point he blew right past a Mexican defender.

Dempsey: 5.5. Excellent on the ball and fearless in the attack, but he tired too quickly. He should be a mainstay for us in the years ahead.

Convey: 5. Looked rusty in the first half when he made poor passes and lost possession often. Much improved second half, should have converted breakaway though.

Clark: 5. I’ve read mixed reviews of Clark, but from my viewing, he did not really have that much of an impact one way or another on the game. I thought he was much more active in the Denmark game.

Mastroeni: 5.5. Had a pretty good game controlling the ball, but still needs to watch his fouls. Mastroeni has some skill and is better than a lot of our other alternatives. The problem is that in international play he is entirely too average and for the U.S. to become an elite team, it needs to have the quality of someone like Reyna (or beter).

Donovan: 6.5. Donovan had a good game. He was more aggressive than in the World Cup and was willing to run at defenders. The breakaway goal, while a gift, was not as easy as it appeared - it took skill to split two defenders and then beat the keeper. Other than the corner kick that Conrad scored on, his set pieces were not that great. He still is absent from too much of the game and needs to get even more involved in the attack.

Rolfe: 3.5. I used to be a fan of giving Rolfe a chance on the national team, but no longer. He is too tenative on the attack and does not get involved enough. It is time to give Twellman a chance.

Johnson: 4. Limited time, and his speed was evident, but for the umpteenth time in a row, not effective.

Gros: 3. As a DC united fan, I really like Gros and admire his hustle. Although his time was short on the pitch, he looked VERY slow compared to the Mexicans.

Carroll: N/A. Too little time, too few touches for me to form an opinion.

I am interested in what the rest of you think.

Posted from United States

By Connor | February 10th, 2007 at 3:28 pm

I agree that Twellman should get some playing time.

Posted from United States

By josue | February 10th, 2007 at 11:41 pm

usa still sux

Posted from United States

By nigerian | February 11th, 2007 at 9:57 pm

mexico still sux 2-0 no and forever baby

Posted from United States

By josue | February 12th, 2007 at 3:13 pm

u back agian nigerian

Posted from United States

By josue | February 12th, 2007 at 3:14 pm

baby??? u sound lik som homo from gay land

Posted from United States

By josué | February 12th, 2007 at 6:35 pm

from one josue to another. shut up. i won’t even say anything from my opinion. I’ll just quote a mexican journalist:

“It is not by chance, bad luck or simply one of those games that everything goes wrong. What happens between the United States and Mexico is something that no one can deny: the americans continue progressing and the mexicans have been left with their ‘glory days’ of the past.”

Posted from United States

By josue | February 12th, 2007 at 7:49 pm

rite

dats shit ur talking about

Posted from United States

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