A Family Duo And Then Some Make Mexico Stumble Once More

February 12th, 2009 | by: Andrea | Comments(8)

Alright, so the game is over, the hype has come to an end(at least, until the return fixture is played). Mexico lost in the much anticipated game against neighbors and CONCACAF rivals, the US. Once, Mexico was THE soccer force in the region, but there’s a new team around.

Although many were sure that it was Mexico’s turn to FINALLY win the CONCACAF Classico in American territory, overall, the team did not do that bad. The scoreline of 2-0 in favor of the US does not accurately represent the action of the game, but in the end the best team won.

Pre-Game
Before the game started there were some concerns on whether it was going to be carried out or not. Thunderstorms were rolling in and lightening was a possibility. The Columbus Crew stadium was deemed an easy conductor for the weather and safety issues were at review. Cameras were shown to have been toppled over by the strong winds but despite the weather, fans continued to poor into the stadium. In the end, the pitch was deemed playable as were the conditions and the game presumed as normal although it was a possibility that the game would have been stopped if any more of the bad weather came rolling back in.

Line-ups
United States
Howard
Hedjuk
Bocanegra
Onyewu
Pearce
Beasley
Kljestan (Clark 86′)
Dempsey
Donovan
Ching (Altidore 83′)

Mexico
Sanchez
Galindo
Marquez
Salcido
Osorio
Augusto
Medina (Sinha 60′)
Pardo
Dos Santos (Bravo 72′)
Castillo (Martinez 34′)
Ochoa

First Half

The wind was very strong in the beginning of the game and it was noticeable that the US was the one with the advantage. They had less trouble adjusting to the speeds and Mexico’s early possession came to a halting stop within the first minute.

Right away in the second minute Ochoa had the ball which then fell to Nery Castillo. Castillo shot but it rebounded to Gio who tried to take a shot despite the surprise that overtook him as he saw the ball coming this way.

By the tenth minute we were attacking quite well and did not seem to be suffering as it was intended by the climate conditions. Our passing was sloppy but we were getting up to the front. And, despite the fact that we were in Columbus, Ohio many supporters showed up to support El Tricolor. As always, when there’s a national team game anywhere in the world, Mexico is always there to support the boys.

In the 12th min Clint Dempsey had a good chance but fired wide. Beasley, who played well in the game and was one of the most threatening players, crossed the ball that was intended for Brian Ching, only for it to be cleared out by El Capitan Marquez.

Then, in the 17th min Medina who had a good game on his side as well, made a run down the left only to get stuck on the water logged pitch. He had many opportunities like this throughout the game and it seemed like that side was the most troublesome to work on.

As if the players didn’t realize, Aaron Galindo made an unnecessary foul outside the area. Donovan took the free kick which came close to the posts.

In the 22nd the US again looked dangerous. Hedjuk came close but was eventually called offsides.

Finally in the 29th we made another good effort. Gio made a run and gave it to Ochoa, who ended up wasting a chance. His goalscoring form he had with Chivas did not come with him to Ohio.

On the counterattack from the previous play by Mexico, Dempsey made a good shot that was stopped by Sanchez. The ball went back out to dangerous US players, but Galindo made sure to clear the ball out. The defense was playing well and up until then we hadn’t been in any terrible danger.

Bad turned worse after Castillo determined that he couldn’t go on. In the 34th min Nery had to be replaced by Martinez with an injury to the right leg. Castillo had stopped playing professional football for about a year and had recently been recalled to Shaktar again and had started to have continuity. This is going to put a set back to his plans but hopefully the progress that he’s made can continue once he returns in about a month.

From the 35th until about the 40th min Mexico had a string of shots but all of them ended up nowhere. Howard seemed to have a decent share of the goalkeeper’s luck on this night and he denied Mexico’s shots.

A goal decided to appear in the 42nd but for the wrong team. Sanchez first saved a corner, which eventually found the foot of Bradley via Donovan and Onyewu. The US were 1-0 up by the predicted Mexico killers: the set pieces.

After the goal the Mexican mentality broke down a little and it showed when the US had another close shot in the 44th because of an error in the Mexican defense. Luckily, San Oswaldo managed to get a hand on it to prevent the US from scoring once more.

Half Time

Despite people’s predictions that the US would severely outplay Mexico because of the weather conditions and such the game had been going well for both sides and was an even match. The defense had been stable and the only problem for the Mexican team was the set pieces.

Second Half

The teams came out for the second half with the weather staying the same.

Controversy came in the 65th minute when Gio made a good run only to be pulled down in the box by US defender, Pearce. His shot flew out to Martinez who’s shot went right back to Gio who was laying on the ground appealing for a penalty(and a very clear one at that), but the ball rebounded off Gio’s foot to the opposite side of the net. When Howard caught hold of the ball, Marquez came in with a malicious studs-up tackle on the US keeper. Immediately he was shown the red card. And so, he was able to add another sending off to his list of US departures. The penalty claim for Gio was clearly accurate. Pearce pulled him down by the arm, but the assistant referee didn’t see the play. It should have been awarded and it would have for sure made the game level at 1-1.

We continued to have a few other chances but none of them made any significant difference.

Finally at the games end, Bradley took a shot from far out. The incoming ball bounced funny as it came towards Sanchez and it went past the keeper to give the US a win of 2-0 over Mexico and continue their dominance at home.

Again, the game was much more evenly matched than expected. The first goal didn’t come from open play and as predicted, set pieces killed us. Mexico needs to work on that. The defense overall was solid except for the occasional unnecessary fouls that only caused a few hearts to flutter here and there. They did well cutting off many of the US attacks and once they perfect a few things, it will be one of the assets of the team, especially since that area seems to be the only one that consistently has the same players.

It seems like we were seriously lacking up front. Eriksson keeps on being persistent with Gio who clearly does not have enough experience to be up there in such profile games. I think Gio, along with Vela who is suspended, needs more practice with their club teams and the U-20 before they can truly make the jump and significantly contribute to the El Tri cause. Ochoa, though more experienced, had many laughable misses. His play is inconsistent at best and a more reliable striker is needed up front. Bravo seems like an ideal solution, along with Nery Castillo at times. Both of course lack the match sharpness at the moment due to being out of favor with their clubs.

In the midfield we missed Guardado’s creative play. While Mexico did a decent job in that area of the field we could have used Guardado to make something out of nothing.

As for Marquez…this is yet another expulsion that he can add to his already long list. The tackle was childish and he had no justification. He clearly knew that he could not get to the ball, yet he still deliberately made that studs-up challenge. As one of the best players Mexico has had in a while and captain of the Seleccion, he should have known better. Mexico will now have to make do without him for the match at home against Costa Rica at the Azteca Stadium.

After the game, the cameras quickly ran over to interview Osorio. While speaking he looked like he was on the verge of tears and repeated that it was pride that overtook the game and apologized over and over again.

As all great heroes know, it’s hubris that causes the downfall of all.