I thought the game was fairly entertianing, but of course that's probably because I'm a US fan. The Nigerians weren't playing like they did last time in terms of rough play. Also, the US stepped up their fouls, which is probably good. They also seemed to be adhering to the strategy of not dwelling on the ball (did Sobrero miss that talk?) I thought the early PK was a bit strange, since it seemed to be a case of a couple of players going for the ball. The player behind Parlow might have kicked her, which would have been a foul, and thus a PK. Wambach is actually lucky she didn't get red carded. Throwing an elbow is one of those gray areas and if the referee decided it was intentional she easily could have been sent off. There were a few times the US defense got cut apart. I think the US better be careful if they ever run up against Brazil. While the US would probably still win, based on what I've seen so far, Brazil will not be shut out. I thought it was amusing that Mia admitted it was a cross, whereas Ronaldinho would never fess up.
Re: Easier to follow the Philips MatchCast? Someone requested updates and I decided what the heck, I can provide the PbP. As someone who has "watched" games on various MatchTrackers, I understand that its helpful to have a PbP thread in addition to those match-logs...
PK? Law5guy, I didn't mean to imply that CP had to have the ball for it to be called a PK. I meant that if she had the ball in her possession, it would have made the call more defensible and less a subject of the posts that have been running in this thread this morning. Perhaps the ref was attempting to set a tone for the game. She was way over her head in this match. Another interesting call was when she stopped the match when the Nigerian player got hit by the ball in her penalty area and the US was threatening. Huh? The Nigerians were falling like flies all night. Don't penalize a team just because the other team collapses to the ground at every sign of contact.
Man.. You would have thought that a player that pulled jersey on one player AND a closeline karate chop to the neck of another in the neck would have gotten a card? http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/03/en/t/match/14/photos.html?i=8&d=1 Such bad behaviour by the Nigerians, a complete an utter disgrace by Akide. What horribe referee!!! The referee should have given a yellow to Akide for pulling the Reddick's jersey, and a red card for the arm being thrown at the throat of Fawcett. How can FIFA possibly tollerate this. Nigeria should be Banned from FIFA forever!!!! Sheesh, Eagle Winged.. relax dude. Cheers...
Re: PK? Please elaborate on how possession of the ball is relevant to whether or not the PK call was "defensible."
That was the number I heard. God was I disappointed. All that showed up was 31k, of course 10 years ago it would have drawn 31 period. [rant]Those that did show made sure that their presence wasn't noted except when Mia (shriek....go Mia) touched the ball or when the US scored. Maybe Philadelphia isn't a soccer town. I sat near the two members of Sam's Army and because my group was big and security had hairy eyeballs for me (maybe it was the afro wig), didn't sneak over, but dcajedi and the other guy worked their tails off, but they were defeated by the listless masses who rather sit and watch the screen than the game on the field. And don't you dare stand up. Thank god that club soccer is uncool and that front offices care about the fans. If DC games were like the silent movie I witnessed last night, I could understand why people found baseball interseting.[/rant] About the game. Very well played by the US, I found it questionable that a PK was awarded in the 2nd minute for something less than capital murder. Both teams played well, but the ref assigned seemed ill-equipped to handle such a match.
Re: Reffing and other stuff Just to nitpick a little bit. Remember we now have two AWs on our team. I assume you mean Aly Wagner, not Abby Wambach.
Re: Re: Reffing and other stuff Wambach looked like she was shot out of a cannon on the PK run, and I think she looks fitter than ever, so you can' mean her for your AW.
I was at the match.... The late hit on Sobrero should have been a card, and probably red... but I read a lot about what the nigerians do and about it being dirty... black african soccer is physical, both for men and women... the delicate nature of the female game, generally, in american doesn't like a physical game.... there is legal physical contact and contact which is not legal... so what is the state of black african football, how much is acquired in pristine soccer environments versus what is acquired from street ball... there is gamesmanship played, but USA was guilty of gamesmanship too.... you do it to sway officials.... that's how the game is played in many places...sway the ref....... if you can get away with it, you do it.... who's foolish to believe it does NOT exist... female football, generally, is still in it's infancy globally...much of the clumsiness of the nigerians is simply due to NOT being exposed to any other type of soccer... this clumsiness will change... as will americans slowly come to acquire the raw skill of the nigerians...
She was not only sandwiched by two Falcons, one came up with a high boot ... a boot only slightly closer than Henry on Van Nistelrooy last week. But recall: this ref is only in her second year. She was way outclassed in this encounter. We were openly questioning whether she was an Atlanta Beat fan ... Galavision went over this for several minutes. Pablo Ramirez wondered if there was a "mal intention" behind the elbow, but reminded the audience that no call should be made if there is a physical difference between the two players (Wambach, at 5-11, was already in the air while Kayode was still on the ground not having jumped). I also think the referee was seeing how easily the Nigerians went down (one went down after the ball hit her in the midsection, fer crying out loud!) and thought it was gamespersonship on the part of the Falcons.
That and the innevitable whining the USWNT seems to love has pretty much made me root against them at every opportunity. The idea of Cindy "The Crusher" Parlow complainning about rough play is frankly laughable. Almost as bad as Hamm complaining about diving. Let's keep in mind who it was who ended up stretchered off here. G.
You're also assuming that the Nigerian player was stretchered off because she actually required assistance getting off the field. Given her team's despicable play-acting throughout the match, I think it's equally if not more likely that she incurred the cut, then embellished her "injury" such that it "required" being stretchered off. And even if Parlow plays roughly, you'd be hard-pressed to show any circumstance from last night's game where she committed a foul that was nearly as egregious as the one on Wambach which drew the PK or the tackle on Sobrero.
articles A couple of articles from Philly: Hamm: 'When She Gets The Ball At Her Feet, That's When She Talks' http://onthesidelines.org/wwc092503a.htm U.S. Vs. Nigeria Quotable http://onthesidelines.org/wwc092503b.htm Interesting quotes in them.
Which is, according to my reading of the Laws, incorrect -- she should have allowed the kick to proceed and forced a rekick only if Foudy failed to convert.
Rekick would have been appropriate if the ref whistled the play dead because the GK had already left the line. But it seems odd....
That is because Milbrett was the encroacher. The Galavision tape shows she was a step inside the 18 at the ball-strike. Good call.
A pretty decent analysis, but I have some things to fill in, having had the good fortune to have been present at the Linc for this one. First, while it was clearly Hamm's night and she was a proper WOTM choice, Lilly's performance was nearly as good. Lilly is much easier to appreciate live, where you can follow the whole field instead of the narrow slice offered by the camera. Lilly does so many small things, like winning contested balls, turning defensive stops into offense and taking advantage of gaps in the other side. You have to see her live to appreciate her. The other player over whom I must gush is Wambach. Beulah didn't gush enough. She was the major factor in all three second half goals. On the corner kick, she earned the kick, then drew four defenders with her as she charged toward the net, leaving Hamm the chance to serve an on-target soaring kick to Parlow, who was left wide open. It was because of Wambach that Parlow was left wide open -- and they don't quadruple-team Parlow, do they? The second goal was really a Lilly creation, but finishing by using your left heel to direct the ball rightward is a nifty move. Give Wambach credit here, too. The third goal was the result of Wambach turning and blowing by a defender. Women as tall and strong as her aren't supposed to be able to do that, so the stereotype goes, but Wambach can. And, to watch her on the aerial balls was a delight. Despite constant close marking, Wambach consistently won headers, often directing them as passes to open teammates. At other times, she showed excelling trapping ability (including on chest high balls) and a knack for turning traps into spins and passes to resume attacks. With Boxx and Reddick also playing so well, the younger players are forming a solid nucleus down the middle. This team is going to be good for years to come.
Just wanted to say that Roberts played much better in the Korea match, since I was one of the posters who said she looked bad against Nigeria.
Yeah, she faked it all the way to the hospital. What bothers me is the USWNT's culture of complaining about rough play and diving while getting in their fair share of flopping around like fish or getting surreptitious hits in. At least the Nigerians are honest about their style. If only the Americans were so honest. G.
Well guess who's laughing now... .....enjoy.. ..must be what it feels like to be owned.. http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/fifa/gen/afp/20031006/i/837968075.jpg c'mon mia..that shirt ain't cooked yet.. http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/fifa/gen/afp/20031005/i/1966985509.jpg hehehe....just hand the cup over..