deduced from matchtracker for anyone not following BD taking corners and set pieces, one of which found Marshall for a well taken header, another which bounced in the area and was poorly cleared for Convey to blast home. Drew a yellow midway through first half. Esky Lando runDMB BC Davis Beckrmn Zak Chad Nat Wingert DJ Halftime, Olimpinats 3, Amanaplanacanal, Nil. -bs
not a great 2nd half for our guys, DJ gets shelled for 3 goals in 15 minutes, Davis isn't mentioned until subbed off on 85', and EJ fired wide on a breakaway (what's new) but his blasted shot hit a defender and fell to Convey (what's new) for the late go-ahead, Olimpinats 4, Amanaplanacanal, 3. -bs
I knew that Panama had an emerging team, but this was impressive. Hopefully it is that and not the fact that we simply gave up in the second half.... Good to see we found a way to win this game. Didn't sound like any of the goals were DJ's fault. I think we may have underestimated the fan factor in this.... Hopefully we don't HAVE to win against Honduras... Hopefully we can get a good result from the Canada game and Honduras and Panama tie.... This is going to be tight!
more warm fuzzies for y'all More proof positive about Sir Miss-A-Lot (EJ). And you guys want him to be our Gortex salesman? I've been telling you, lets sell while the kids stock is high. EJ to SJ for DeRossario today. Panama? They don't even have a pro league. If we were talking about baseball or boxing, the results could be forgiven. The pace best pick up, because Honduras will smoke us like a bag of skunk weed if we don't improve.
Re: more warm fuzzies for y'all Honduras is definitely strong, no doubt there. I think you are underestimating Panama, though. They played well in the last round of qualifying. In the end, though, it is the semifinal game that matters (unless we don't get that far). We have to tcob v. Canada first, then see where we are. One game at a time.
Caught the goal highlights. The first was because of poor defense, the second was just an absolute cracker of a shot that Countess had no chance at, while the third was because he failed to cover the near post. Seems like the defense fell asleep during the first 20 minutes of the second half, and the team had a hard time getting any momentum going. It will be interesting to see who plays keep for the next game.
Maybe Mooch should've pulled his head out of his ass (and then pulled his foot out of his mouth) and BROUGHT IN SALYER.
changes There will be lots of changes in the defense and probably goal IF we a lucky enough to qualify for Athens. The best thing Phil can do now is make the Burn team and become a starter which should put him into consideration with Mooch. There's more talent on the Burn defensively than on the 23's at this time so being a starter with that group would be a great accomplishment.
Re: more warm fuzzies for y'all He was only on for about 15 minutes. Accounts have him missing one shot but 'setting up' Convey for the game winner. Hard to tell anything conclusively yet, as it's still unclear if it was Davis or Beckerman on goal #2, and Esky or Donovan on goal #3. Davis took all the free kicks while he was in. Sounded dangerous, too. (just my matchtracker impressions)
Most recent Match Report from USSA. The goal scorers are indeed, Convey, Davis, Donovan, Convey. Scoring Summary: 1 2 F Panama 0 3 3 USA 3 1 4 USA – Bobby Convey (unassisted) 7th minute. USA – Brad Davis (Landon Donovan) 28. USA – Landon Donovan (DaMarcus Bealsey) 29. PAN – Jose Luis Garces (Victor Miranda) 53. PAN – Luis Henriquez (William Aguilar) 57. PAN – Jose Luis Garces (Luis Tejada) 71. USA – Bobby Convey (unassisted) 79. 1) Convey scores the first off a Davis free kick with the ball dropping to Convey. 2) Davis scores the second off a feed from Landon and Davis one times the shot past the Panama Keeper. 3) Donovan and Beasley with a nice combination and a Donovan finish. 4) Convey after a nice run and cross by DMB into Johnson whose blocked shot rebounds to the unmarked Convey who for the second time in the match was @ the right place @ the right time. http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=52803&itype=113&iCategoryID=0 Davis was mentioned quite frequently throughout the Matchtracker Report and took all of the United State's free kicks and was apparently dangerous the whole match.
Well Bobby C was @ the right place @ the right time which is a good thing. Having the good fortune to have 2 loose balls drop to his feet in front of the goal for some easy finishes is not exactly my idea of him saving the day but I'll take it anyway.
Convey takes advantage of opportunities and puts balls in nets more consistently than anyone else at the U-20 and U-23 level. EJ used to do that at the U-17 level, but has yet to really prove himself at these higher levels, PK success at the U-20 World Cup notwithstanding.
Convey is certainly opportunistic. As far as putting more balls into the net than others @ the U/23 level I respectfully disagree. As a goal scoring threat I rank Convey behind, 1) Donovan 2) Buddle 3) Beasley 4) Davis All of whom score in MLS more often than Convey. 5) Conner Casey in Germany is certainly is a better ball depositor than Bobby C. Testo and Johnson are arguably bigger scoring threats as well with Eskadarian not far behind.
All of whom score in MLS more often than Convey. Based on what? His limited performances last year due to national team callups, the whole Tottenham fiasco, and his sickness thereafter? His performances over the last two months have been a breath of fresh air to his game and certainly bodes well for the upcoming season as well as the Olympic and World Cup Qualifiers. I think he is the threat of the team in OQ so far and the triangle of Convey-Donovan-Beasley is going to be worth watching for those games and more. Oh, and if you think Eski is a threat, you're fooling yourself. He needs to figure out what a left foot is and how to shoot with both.
Based on their collective MLS career goal scoring numbers of which Convey ranks last among the players I mentioned. I'm not going to do the research for you but if you are interested go to www.mlsnet.com and see for yourself. Hey I'm a Convey fan but facts are facts.
I decided to do the research. 1) Edson Buddle, 59 MLS career regular season games played with a total of 3369 minutes played scoring a total of 22 goals and 11 assists. 55 total points and a point per minute average of 1 point per every 61 minutes of playing time. 2) Landon Donovan, 71 MLS career regular season games played with a total of 5229 minutes played scoring a total of 28 goals and 19 assists. 71 total points and a point per minute average of 1 point per every 74 minutes of playing time. 3) Brad Davis, 50 MLS career regular season games played with a total of 3156 minutes played scoring a total of 10 goals and 8 assists. 28 total points and a point per minute average of 1 point per every 112 minutes of playing time. 4) Demarcus Beasley, 83 MLS career regular season games played with a total of 6929 minutes played scoring a total of 14 goals and 17 assists. 45 total points and a point per minute average of 1 point per every 154 minutes of playing time. 5) Bobby Convey, 79 MLS career regular season games played with a total of 6430 minutes played scoring a total of 8 goals and 13 assists. 29 total points and a point per minute average of 1 point per every 222 minutes of playing time. By the way Eskandarins #'s are better than Convey's as well Eskandarian, 23 MLS career regular season games played with a total of 728 minutes played scoring a total of 3 goals and 2 assists. 8 total points and a point per minute average of 1 point per every 91 minutes of playing time.
Comparing the career stats of the 2 players suggests that Eskandarian ain't so bad! Bobby Convey, 79 MLS career regular season games played with a total of 6430 minutes played scoring a total of 8 goals and 13 assists. 29 total points and a point per minute average of 1 point per every 222 minutes of playing time. Eskandarian, 23 MLS career regular season games played with a total of 728 minutes played scoring a total of 3 goals and 2 assists. 8 total points and a point per minute average of 1 point per every 91 minutes of playing time. Now of course statistics don't begin to tell the whole story of a comparison between players but they are one tool used to measure overall performance and effectiveness. Time will tell how well Eski performs but so for he has a better point producing rate than Convey. Certainly I like Convey better as a player than Alecko based on his overall versatility.
I'm sure he did along with Eddie Johnson. Both of whom had excellent performances in the U/20's. There is of course a big step up in overall quality from the U/20 to the U/23's. Convey is a great young player but has his limitations among them being a withering strike rate @ the professional level of play.
And being stuck behind the shadow of Etch for the past few seasons. Not too mention being played out on the left. As an a-mid, he will contribute a lot more than he ever did out on the wing and can actually display his abilities rather than being stifled by others.