I've been having a debate with my brothers and put together this gif to prove that Zardes didn't poach that goal from Dempsey. It's a non-issue but thought I'd share:
If Zardes does not tap it in then the ball easily could of bounced off the post and gone in any direction after that. Zardes did the right thing.
And even if he was pretty sure the ball was going in without his help, that was not the moment to take a 'wait and see' approach.
I don't care if it was 100% going in and everyone in the stadium knew it - you still knock it in if you're Zardes.
Any player in that situation has to do what Zardes does--especially in an intense and tight affair like last night's match was. Your team needs goals, in a knockout round match in a serious tournament, guys don't care who scores the goal as long as you get the result and move on. Does anyone think Dempsey cared? This is not a friendly in which stat padding comes into play.
Tapping it in was the right thing. Doesn't mean Zardes is suddenly gifted offensively. He's out there because of his tracking back, not because of his attacking acumen.
That thing could have been heading for the middle of the goal and Dempsey would have put a little touch on it.
Yep - finish the play and leave no doubt. Unless you are Wondo - he would have shanked it over the net.
Reminds of one which Donovan hit, and Dempsey tapped in for insurance - I can't find it now, but people were actually talking about Dempsey "taking Donovan's goal". Not Donovan, of course. The only time you don't kick that sucker in is if you are offside, or if it's already in there.
This kept me up all night, was it poached, wasn't it poached. Going back and forth on that, rocking and rolling in my sleep. Now I can rest easy.
Imagine if Gyassi had stepped offside before tapping it in. We'd be looking at a thread a page or two longer than the current one. p.s. The guy BS savants wanted benched before the Paraguay game had the winning assist against Paraguay and the winning goal against Ecuador. Don't cry for me Argentina. p.p.s - keep complaining guys
You do have to love the irony of one of the least popular U.S. players around here scoring a game winner in a Copa knockout. Tap in or not, I get the feeling that if some other players in our pool stood in for Zardes there the hype would be unreal.
I wish Zardes were better than he is, but he really does work extra hard. I'm glad he in the pool and when he plays I know what he's going to give. And 100% correct of him to knock that goal in.
Surprised Bradley didn't come out of nowhere and backpass it. On a serious note, good for Zardes. He's so maligned around here for what he doesn't do well but what he does well overshadows all of that.
Fnnniest post I've seen in a long time. Tks, I needed that. I get the feeling Zardes has a gift for keeping us entertained around here.