Based on the majority of people's analysis Chastain is the only one who can make a pass to a teammate out of pressure? That's not good. This same stuff was happening when Chastain was in there. It seems like the M.O. for team USA, pressure on the defense? KICK IT AWAY QUICK!!!
well, you've forgotten joy fawcwtt- solid as a rock all day, and still one of the world's best defenders. sobrero too can play a ball out w/ the best. if we win this world cup, it'll be our defense, including scurry, that does it. come the qf's and beyond, i don't see us scoring many goals.
Comments on the match and reaction to posts here: I agree Scurry was lucky not to get a redcard. That was right where I was sitting. She showed no interest in the ball, hit the player late, could easily have gone either way (yellow or red) Everyone is right on Chastain. She is slower, and it showed. But they D performed better with her in there. Clearly Sweden figured some things out, like pressing more and going wide more, at halftime and that helped them. Boxx was a great ball winner, but did have some bad, unforced give aways. Hamm was mostly great, Lily was even better. I too disagreed with Aprils subbing on Milbrett for Abby. Seemed pretty clear Parlow was nearly gassed, and after a few runs to the corner, she was spent. Crowd was just OK. some noise, but a lot of looks and comments of dismay to folks showing enthusiasm. Seemed to be a lot of energy diverted to "SAVE the WUSA" efforts. As always the organized cheering from the Korean fans was impressive.
Fawcett one more thing I don't think I have ever seen Joy Fawcett make a mistake. yesterday was no exception She is simply amazing. If she has dropped a step (I don't think its clear she has) she has made up for it in smarts.
Yeah, those South Korea fans in the upper section were craaaaazy. I agree that the crowd in general was pretty weak. It seemed that things only got loud right before corner kicks, because everyone around me was silent whenever Sweden had the ball. Anyway, I still disagree about the importance of Chastain. The only reason why the defense "looked" shakier in the second half was because the U.S. stopped pressing for goals and sat back, so Sweden started dominating in terms of territorial possession. As a result, the defense was under constant pressure in a way that didn't happen in the first half. Reddick did a fine job in the back -- Sobrero was the weak link, if any. IMO, Chastain would've had serious difficulty containing Ri Kum-suk next Sunday. Reddick is likely to fare better. My analogy from the other thread stands. Chastain:Agoos::Reddick:Berhalter
I'd have to agree with that analogy. I would add that Boxx's debut was not unlike Corey Gibbs' in the Confed Cup. Nerves showed and some unforced errors proved more embarrasing than damaging. Ultimatelythough, you can see she'll be an asset as a d-mid for the team as Gibbs has started to show at leftback.
had she actually hit her, that's a red, but several slo-mo replays showed no contact. yellow was appropriate.
Maybe so, but I also saw her make a couple awful passes, right to a Swede, while sobrero was under very little pressure.
certainly wasn't her best day (was it anyone's?), but the point is, ALL the us backs are inclined to pass balls to their own players...certainly not just chastain. their poise is what sets us apart from most of the world.
I don't know how you get to that conclusion...all the replays show clearly that Ljundberg was up in the air with her left knee down and Scurry went in with left leg up. They made knee to knee contact that caused Ljunberg to up end a complete 180 and land head first. She would have landed on her butt without contact. Although Ljundberg had clearly beaten her mark, she was not on a lone breakaway. Had she been, it would've been a straight red for Scurry. Scurry threw an early jab at Sweden's star player to try to take the fight out of her. She admits so in her post-game interview. It was a tactical foul more than anything else.
Well as of right now, it's been reported that B-Chaz is definately out for the next two games and her status is up in the air in the elimination rounds. So can Heinrichs go ahead and name an alternate now or is she stuck with 19 healthy players?
Should this be in a new thread? I mean, the injury happened in the Sweden game, but the aftermath is another story.
Right. Mowins and DiCicco went over this during the Ghana-China match. A tournament-ending injury to a goalkeeper is a free sub. That's why April went with 18 field players and two keepers.
For what it's worth, the Swedish media not surprisingly is of the view that Scurry's tackle could easily have resulted in a red, but they're not surprised such a call wasn't made against the home team. The article I read (in Svenska Dagbladet) added that the USA thoroughly deserved its win...that the US simply couldn't be denied due to their self-belief and battling qualities. There is also some question whether Hanna Ljungberg will be forced to miss Sweden's next match v. N. Korea due to injuries from Scurry's tackle. Personally, I think the ref could have given either yellow or red with perfect justification, and am a bit surprised at the attacks on those earlier posters who have said the same. Seriously, if it had been Mia Hamm going down under a challenge like that, I think we'd all be baying for blood.
From SA Daily: "I think I hit her with my knee going into her quad. I think I got her pretty good, but she's a lot faster than I thought." -- U.S. goalkeeper Brianna Scurry, who plowed into Sweden's star forward, Hanna Ljungberg, during the first half of the Americans' 3-1 win in their Women's World Cup opener. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Since I didn't see the play (started watching at the 25 minute mark), I won't comment on whether the play warrent a yellow or red. However, based upon other comments, she did make good contact. Good game overall. I'm still not comfortable with the outside defenders (Pierce and Sombero). I don't think Brandi's absense made any difference in the game. Foudy wasn't involved very much. Tiffany shouldn't even been on the field. I can see now why she hadn't been scoring much in the WUSA... WOM: Hamm/Lilly
"Not messing around now," Scurry said. "I got her pretty good. She was a little bit gun-shy after that. I don't think she wanted to play too much more after that. "I did what I had to do," Scurry added defiantly. http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/03/en/030922/6/8xj.html
Thanks. I thought I had read all the articles at that site, but i guess I haven't been there yet today. Too busy catching up on the squabbles in some of the other threads.
I was at lunch so defensewins and quakeattack beat me to the references but yeah....I have to say though I don't think she would've gotten a red regardless. Professional fouls rarely do, though a yellow would be expected. It would've been a different story if Ljundberg had been 1v1 with Scurry on a solo breakaway. She's the team's star player and she had clearly beaten Sobrero and Scurry on the play. Standard professional foul and standard yellow for it. I agree with BarbS that if it had been Mia taken down like that Bush would've invaded Sweden. This kind of play happens all the time (remember, soccer is a contact sport). Hopefully Hanna is alright and isn't too shaken up for the rest of the tournament. She's a delight to watch on the field.
Has anyone ever mentioned to Scurry that some things are better left unsaid? I remember her talking about how she moved early during the '99 WC final to block the Chinese PK, shrugging it off and saying, "All keepers do it." I've seen it plenty of times myself, but what's with this bravado? It's like bragging about cheating on an exam. How does this achieve anything but suspicion from onlookers (like refs) the next time around?
That's a good point...but at the same time...every team has it's hero and it's villain. For every David Beckham, there's a Roy Keane. It's all good. It adds character to the team. If they were all angels we'd suffer sacharine overdose watching them.
My Ratings for USWNT Vs Sweden SCurry: 6.5 (She's lucky she didn't get a red card) Fawcett: 7 Chastain: 6.5 Sobrero: 5.5 Pearce: 6 Foudy: 6 Boxx: 7 Lilly: 7.5 Hamm: 7.5 (my WOTM) Wambach 7 (I think Aprils doesn't like her) Parlow: 6.5 (She's not fit for 90 minutes) ------------------------------------- The Subs: Reddick: 6 Milebert: 5.5 Wagner: 5 -------------------------------- Coach: April: 6 (she doen't like Wamback and it showed today, why else would anyone sub her best atacking player at 55th min of the game)
Originally posted by BarbS "Personally, I think the ref could have given either yellow or red with perfect justification, and am a bit surprised at the attacks on those earlier posters who have said the same." Actually I thought I would get a lot more heat and a lot less agreement than I have. I am often chastised by fellow fans over being too critical. It is refreshing to see that many had a similar interpetation. Only now I'll lose curmudgeon points and I guess my spot in the Idiot Post semis is a memory. Scurry really should keep her mouth shut at least til the end of the tournament. Take Roy Keane's lead and spill the beans in print for buck$$$.
I don't question the yellow. The yellow was a proper call. But I feel Ljungberg's nasty fall was more of a result of that awkward leap she made. Scurry didn't send her flipping in the air. In any case if Hanna misses the next game because of injury then you have to ask: If she was that badly hurt then why did she continue playing?