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So I had a chance to watch some of the games played in the GC so far over the weekend. Here are some of my observations:
GRENADA vs USA
The Grenadian team reminded me of Jamaica in the early stages of our 1998 campaign - disorganised. We have the same athletic attributes but lacked cohesion which the US team exploited at will. The similarities are obvious in how Grenada packed their defense with 8 - 9 players without really defending. I was very impressed with how the US controlled the game with very slick short passes. They had the ball doing all the work and they, as a team, supported the player on the ball. They were completely dominant because Grenada was such a weak team. The first goal scored by Fredy Adu was beauty because of its simplicity. Holden broke awway on the left hand side, cut into the 18, feigned a cross, cutting back the ball and fooling the defender then had the presence of mind to play the ball neatly across to Adu who scored an easy, well-placed goal. I immediately thought of the disparity between us and the Americans.
1. If it had been a Jamaican in Holden's position, his first instinct after beating the defender so easily, would be to shoot towards goal instead of playing off the ball to the better positioned player.
2. If it had been a Jamaican in Adu's position, his first instinct after receiving such a nice setup would be to go for power by striking the ball with his instep instead of using his sidefoot to place the ball out of the goalkeeper's reach.
That build up play drove home the reason why we continue to struggle to achieve anything in football, while the USA continue to rack up the accolades.
Mexico used their superior knowledge to eke out a 2 -0 win against the newbies Nicaragua. I will say this though, if any team was to play them thinking that it will be an easy win, they will get a rude awakening. They looked the part.
Gaudeloupe pulled off a surprising win over Panama. I did not see the first half of that game. By the time I started watching the game, Guadeloupe was already up 2 - 0. In the 25 minutes that I saw, Panama had them playing on the backfoot and the writing was already on the wall that they would score. Gaudeloupe seems to have some decent players though, but they seemed to panick as the game got longer.
Jamaica had better come good against Costa Rica.
GRENADA vs USA
The Grenadian team reminded me of Jamaica in the early stages of our 1998 campaign - disorganised. We have the same athletic attributes but lacked cohesion which the US team exploited at will. The similarities are obvious in how Grenada packed their defense with 8 - 9 players without really defending. I was very impressed with how the US controlled the game with very slick short passes. They had the ball doing all the work and they, as a team, supported the player on the ball. They were completely dominant because Grenada was such a weak team. The first goal scored by Fredy Adu was beauty because of its simplicity. Holden broke awway on the left hand side, cut into the 18, feigned a cross, cutting back the ball and fooling the defender then had the presence of mind to play the ball neatly across to Adu who scored an easy, well-placed goal. I immediately thought of the disparity between us and the Americans.
1. If it had been a Jamaican in Holden's position, his first instinct after beating the defender so easily, would be to shoot towards goal instead of playing off the ball to the better positioned player.
2. If it had been a Jamaican in Adu's position, his first instinct after receiving such a nice setup would be to go for power by striking the ball with his instep instead of using his sidefoot to place the ball out of the goalkeeper's reach.
That build up play drove home the reason why we continue to struggle to achieve anything in football, while the USA continue to rack up the accolades.
Mexico used their superior knowledge to eke out a 2 -0 win against the newbies Nicaragua. I will say this though, if any team was to play them thinking that it will be an easy win, they will get a rude awakening. They looked the part.
Gaudeloupe pulled off a surprising win over Panama. I did not see the first half of that game. By the time I started watching the game, Guadeloupe was already up 2 - 0. In the 25 minutes that I saw, Panama had them playing on the backfoot and the writing was already on the wall that they would score. Gaudeloupe seems to have some decent players though, but they seemed to panick as the game got longer.
Jamaica had better come good against Costa Rica.
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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