2-1 US, Hammarby Web site says Adu started, US controlled much of the play not much other info there right now (at least that's what the free translation service says) Hammarby site do we need an [R] in the thread title? it is only a scrimmage
I just watched two guys commentate (is that a word?) on a video game. WTF?!?!?!? Yeah, highlights don't appear to be up as far I can tell.
Final 2-1 US. Lineup (4-4-2): Guzan (Wells 2nd half) Klein (Hedjuk 2nd half)-Ihemelu-Boswell-Dunivant Quaranta-Carroll-Adu (Martino 2nd half)-Noonan Rolfe-Jaqua Goals: Rolfe, Noonan, both in first half. Jaqua to the hospital for stitches -a cut over the eye from an elbow. Very physical game.
This is interesting my daughter once went to Sweden to study Swdish language and culture. See told me everyone she had contact with in sweden spoke English by choice for some reason was she pulling mu leg?
Jaqua did not go to the hospital. They just put a bandage above his eye, and he continued to play. That happened just before the 1st half finished. They got into a little scuffle. Also, the USMNT needs to learn to finish balls instead of crossing them. Time and time again they attacked the goal during the second half, they could've shot at goal, but instead decide to walk it in or cross the ball. It gets really frustrating when we attack and we're 3 v 2, and we can't finish the damn ball.
I spoke with someone who was there. I am waiting to watch the video once it is posted on the Hammarby web site. I don't really know too much else, other than that both US goals were nice.
Still nothing there. Hopefully something will get uploaded this evening, but my guess is not until really late if they are going to do it in the morning in Sweden. If they are waiting on technical resources in Sweden, we're probably looking at 3 in the morning EST to get anything up on the site. Lee ps - Uniteo is right...
They played on the center practice field, which meant unless you were one of the fifty YNT players watching the game, you had a bad view of the action. Anyone who saw last night's game will be relieved to know we went back to the 4-4-2. The lineup's a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure it was: First half: --------Jaqua-Rolfe--------- -------------Adu------------- Noonan------------Quaranta ------------Carroll----------- Dunivant-Ugo-Boswell-Klein ------------Guzan----------- Apparently they started promptly, because when I arrived, I'd missed a 3rd minute goal. I was told by someone there that it was an all-Rolfe solo effort, beating 3 defenders and scoring. Hopefully video of it pops up somewhere. We controlled the ball decently in the first half and were mostly attacking down the wings. Klein sent some good balls up the wing and got in a few nice crosses. Jaqua nearly got onto a couple of them: one time volleying high and wide, and another time heading wide. He also caught an elbow to the eye and was bleeding like McBride. He was stiched up and continued to play. Rolfe was the danger man up front. He got onto a cross near post, 10 yards out, with a defender on him, and sent a looping header that just went high and wide of the far post. He also created the second goal of the game. Rolfe took a pass on the right side of the penalty area, dribbled past a defender, passed back to Adu at the top of the box who sent it wide to an unmarked Noonan. Noonan did well, waiting for the keeper to commit and slide, then deftly chipping it over him and into the net. Adu looked good out there. When he gets the ball, you expect him to make something happen, and often times today he did. The Hammarby goal came a bit against the run of play. A player made a great cross-field switch that opened us up, and put their winger near the touchline just outside our 18. He sent in a cross that was deflected by Dunivant, but ended up in the path of an onrushing Hammarby player who hammered it home. Guzan had no chance really. The goal came on the Dunivant/Ugo side of the defense, but I wouldn't read too much into that, as I'll get to in the second half. At the end of the half, there was a bit of a scuffle as Jaqua, still angry from being elbowed, was the victim of what he thought was a rough challenge. At this point the Swedes became remarkably bilingual, and told Jaqua to "grow up you ********ing idiot" and "learn how to take a challenge you big ********ing ape." I must say I enjoyed it. Second half: ----------Jaqua-Rolfe--------- -------------Martino---------- Noonan--------------Quaranta -------------Carroll----------- Dunivant-Ugo-Boswell-Hejduk --------------Wells------------ The second half kind of reminded me of the Canada game. We had lots of possession, but it was mostly between the back four and Carroll. Thankfully, we played the ball on the ground most of the time and didn't resort to lumping hopeful balls forward. Standing behind our goal, I had a good view of the defense, and everyone played pretty well. Ugo stood out as playing the best, save one bad pass around the 75th minute. Hejduk got forward well, but that seemed to be a product of good switches to his side. Defensively, he left the team hanging out to dry a couple times with Boswell and Quaranta doing their best to cover for him. Hammarby hit the post on one such occasion. Wells kept the back four organized but was never really challenged. It's hard to say what the problem was offensively in the second half, but I have a feeling it was Martino replacing Adu. As we tried to work the ball up from the back, Carroll was decent in his distribution to the wings, but Martino seemed planted in the middle of the field. Apart from the occasional overlap of Hejduk or Dunivant, we looked stale out there. The ball would make it's way to Noonan or Quaranta, and they'd have nowhere to put the ball but backwards. Martino needed to be more active and to be an outlet for his teammates. It got so bad that Jaqua started checking way back in the midfield for the ball, and as such ended up not being in position to get on the end of crosses. Jaqua was active today, and did pretty well to hold the ball up. He also dribbled quite a bit and had more confidence in his ability to get past defenders than perhaps he should - he lost the ball whenever he tried to dribble through the defense. I just kept thinking to myself that it's too bad McBride isn't in camp or a coach, because Jaqua and Ching can really use some how-to's on playing target forward. I didn't see much from Rolfe in the second half. Quaranta gave the ball away alot today. A person standing near me commented that he seemed to be the common denominator every time an attack ended. Plenty of bad passes and turnovers, as well as a shot that hit a palm tree. Palm trees really aren't that easy to hit at the Home Depot Center. Noonan played pretty well all game, and seemed to be the vocal leader on the field, but I'm not sold that he's the best we can do at right wing. Then again, maybe he is. As a team, there was the ever-present hesitancy around the box; times when the shot is there to be taken, but a pass is made instead. Or the player elects to dribble until he's dispossessed. Or, in the rare case a shot is taken, it's nowhere near the target. It's hardly worth mentioning, because it's a problem every game I watch the nats (and the Galaxy for that matter) play. All in all, not the most exciting game, but much better than last night. Impressed: Rolfe, Adu, Ugo More Good than Bad: Jaqua, Dunivant, Noonan, Boswell, Klein, Carroll More Bad than Good: Hejduk Yuck: Martino, Quaranta
I was on the U.S. defense side in the 2nd half, so I didn't get a very good view of the offense. Did anyone stand out from your end?
http://www.hammarbyfotboll.se/se/aktuellt/artiklar/?articleid=28535 game summary in Swedish .. not sure where the video is
I have only seen Rolfe with the Nats a few times. However, he looks as good or better than our other fringe forwards (twellman, wolf, ching, casey, etc.)
thanks for the info taco jones! ussoccer really needs to do what MLSnet does and play their games on their website. i hate it that quaranta sucked. i was kind of hoping to see Quaranta be our beasley in 2006, but hopefully he'll get a lot better.
The thing about Rolfe(and imo, Herc) is that he has obvious technical skills and pace. With other players, you're just not always so sure they'll be able to make that leap.
No videos posted yet, dunno why.. Might be because of your lawyers that went crazy when they heard that Hammarby had info about the game on their website before it was played.. They told Hammarby that if Hammarby did not follow their "suggestions", it would be a legal matter. Land of the free eh... RELAX!! geez.. There's an interview with Hammarby's captain on the website who thinks that Hammarby was the better team and deserved to win. He also said that there was a couple of great players in the opposition, but also a few who weren't that great, far from being world cup standard..
http://www.hammarbyfotboll.se/se/aktuellt/artiklar/?articleid=28536 Clarifying around fallen silent before the USA game Hammarbyfotboll.se regrets the obefintliga the monitoring before the USA game. The depends on that USA: s national teams' legal advisers opposed all mould of publicitet around the game before the each played. For USA: s national teams each game an unofficial struggle and one wanted not have any audience. When man might know that hammarbyfotboll.se agreed to out information about the game that since spridits to American webbsajter became we instructed to clear all information from hammarbyfotboll.se. Not neither, we might report something introduces or during the game. Moreover, a rumour had spridits about that Hammarby's official homepage willed streama the game live, which created certain panic among the Americans' legal advisers. One clarified that about we their not followed directives willed the question few legal efterspel. Therefore, we chose to lie lowly to after the game each played.
Yeah, it was quite obvious that they didn't want spectators, but the question is why. Maybe they didn't want people seeing a free friendly 6 days before one that requires paid entry? I don't think the U.S. was hiding any secret weapon. I don't know that they were the better team. Their players as a whole were more skilled though. And he's absolutely right about some of our players being far for world cup standard. Most of the players aren't world cup standard. The purpose of these friendlies is to find a few that are.
That's a bit disconcerting, I would hope a group of us based mls all stars would be more skilled than a swedish club.