Tweet
Game over! - Boyz crash out of Gold Cup after losing to USA
Boyz fail to break USA jinx, exit Gold Cup
IAN BURNETT @ THE CONCACAF GOLD CUP ?in the USA
Monday, June 20, 2011
WASHINGTON DC, USA — Jamaica's participation at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament came to a crashing halt after they were beaten 2-0 by the United States here at the RFK Stadium yesterday.
Jermaine Jones gave the Americans a deserved lead with a deflected shot off Jamaican defender Jermaine Taylor in the 49th minute, and after the said defender had been cruelly sent off after the hour mark, the Americans wrapped up victory when Clint Dempsey connected on Juan Agudelo's pass inside the penalty area 10 minutes from the end.
WASHINGTON, DC, USA — The USA’s Michael Bradley (centre) gets closest to the ball ahead of Jamaica’s (from left) Rodolph Austin, Dane Richards and Eric Vernan during their CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final match at the RFK Stadium here, yesterday. The USA won 2-0. (Photos: AFP)
WASHINGTON, DC, USA — Players of the United States celebrate their first goal in the second half against Jamaica during their CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final match at RFK Stadium here, yesterday. USA won 2-0.
It was the second consecutive defeat for the Reggae Boyz by the Americans at the quarter-final stage, following the 1-3 defeat in the 2005 edition in Boston, and it was their third defeat to the supersized North Americans in Gold Cup Tournament play.
The Americans have also stretched their unbeaten record against the Boyz to 20 games, inclusive of two Olympic Games Qualifiers in 1972, when the teams met for the first time. The US have so far scored 11 victories.
Unfortunately, the Boyz saved their worst performance for last after they had gone unbeaten in group play with three wins from as many starts.
But yesterday they unwittingly abandoned their passing game, and became too easily confused by the off-the-ball movement by their opponents, which led to them chasing shadows for long periods and becoming too impatient when in possession of the ball, after a fairly decent first half hour.
They should have opened the scoring from as early as the fourth minute when Dane Richards intercepted a pass on the right hand side of the field at the half-way line. He dribbled by a couple of defenders and raced into the penalty box where he skilfully evaded another challenge before serving Rodolph Austin, whose miscued shot picked out Johnson on the left side of the six-yard box.
Tim Howard advanced and blocked with his legs, but the ball fell kindly to Luton Shelton more centrally located no more than 12 yards away from the unguarded net. However, to the disbelief of the Jamaican supporters inside the capacity 45,423 RFK Stadium, Shelton blasted over the horizontal.
Experience has dictated that such missed opportunities often come back to haunt, and for Jamaica, it certainly did, as goals build confidence at one end and deflate at the other end.
As the teams pressed for the early opening, Dempsey, who left his team following last Tuesday's win over Guadeloupe to attend the wedding of his sister in Texas on Saturday, saw Donovan Ricketts palm away his volley from inside the penalty area for a corner, which the Boyz had difficulty clearing.
The hosts, without much individual creativity, but embracing steady and uncompromising solid play, increased the tempo with their off the ball movements, and this appeared to have caused panic in the Jamaican defence, so much so that whenever the Boyz regained possession, they resorted to booting long, hopeful balls up field instead of playing their possession game, which had led to their success thus far.
Whenever they employed the passing game, the Americans were found wanting, as on the half-hour mark Austin released Johnson with a straight ball over the top and the San Jose Earthquakes forward turned his marker inside the box before setting up Shelton at the top of the area, but the wily striker tried to do too much and lost the clear opportunity to test Howard.
The Boyz then had to ward off a barrage of attacks for the remainder of the half as the US completely dominated play, but the LA Galaxy goalkeeper Ricketts kept his team in the game with a number of fine saves.
As the shambolic team defending continued in front of him, Ricketts easily tipped over Dempsey's 35-yard free-kick; kept out Juan Agudelo, the 12th-minute substitute for the injured Jozy Altidore; denied Eric Lichaj from inside the area and warded off a number of other threats.
In between, the Boyz countered on a three-man fast break, but Richards' end product was gratefully accepted by Howard from an acute angle.
There was an early sign that the Jamaicans had not cleared the cobweb from their heads during the half time interval, as they started the second half without Johnson on the pitch.
And within minutes they were behind, thanks to a wicked deflection. It was Taylor, who had out-jumped an attacker to head clear a deep cross, but the ball fell at the feet of Jones, who rifled goalwards from 30 metres. Ricketts seemed to have been comfortably placed to save, but Taylor stuck out his right boot and the ball deflected into the goal, wrong-footing the big goalkeeper, who was going left.
It was the first goal conceded by the Jamaicans in over three-and-a-half games at the tournament, their best ever, but instead of getting better, the Boyz were becoming more vulnerable.
On the hour mark, Ricketts, arguably the best goalkeeper in Major League Soccer, pulled off a miraculous one-handed save to deny Dempsey from just a few metres away from the goal.
The Boyz were the victims of inept officiating the last time they were at the RFK Stadium in a World Cup Qualifier against the Americans back on October 3, 1997, when ace defender Ian 'Pepe' Goodison was called for a hand ball penalty.
The incident had happened outside the penalty area, but the referee somehow missed it. Yesterday, Mexican referee Marco Rodriquez ensured that the trend continued, as he sent Taylor to the showers in the 66th minute for what he perceived to be a foul on Jones, who had broken away towards goal.
The Jamaicans' appealed for innocence as it was obvious that Jones had taken a tumble after the ball had gone, as the Jamaican slid in to challenge, but the appeal was waved off by Rodriquez, who did not hesitate to pluck the red card from his back pocket.
Television replays suggested that it was Jones who tried his best to draw contact from Taylor and should have been the one to be booked for unsporting behaviour.
The US made the game safe in the 80th minute when Dempsey had the easiest of tasks to tap home from close range after rounding Ricketts. The Jamaican defence was stretched and he benefited from composed team play between Landon Donovan, who came off the bench after he, too, had been granted permission to attend his twin sister's wedding in California on Saturday.
Being a man down and pressing to get back in the game, the Boyz were short on defence and they were lucky not to have conceded more goals.
It was good while it lasted, but the Boyz will have to await another opportunity to shed the monkey of not beating the US off their back.
Teams: Jamaica — Donovan Ricketts, Shavar Thomas, Jermaine Taylor, Adrian Reid, Jason Morrison (Keammar Daley 69th), Rodolph Austin, Demar Phillips, Eric Vernan (Jevaughn Watson 64th), Luton Shelton (Omar Daley 74th), Dane Richards, Ryan Johnson.
Subs not used: Dwayne Miller, Damion Williams, Richard Edwards, Navion Boyd.
Booked: Austin (16th), Taylor (ejected 66th)
USA — Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Michael Bradley, Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones (Maurice Edu 75th), Eric Lichaj, Sacha Kljestan, Jozy Altidore (Juan Agudelo 12th), Clarence Goodson, Alejandro Bedoya (Landon Donovan 65th).
Subs not used: Marcus Hahnemann, Jonathan Bornstein, Tim Ream, Freddy Adu.
Booked: Jones (26th)
Referee: Marco Rodriquez (Mexico)
Assistant Referees: Jose Luis Camargo (Mexico), Alberto Morin (Mexico)
Fourth Official: Walter Lopez (Guatemala)
Match Commissary: Victor Daniel (Grenada)
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1PrSaJ53l
Boyz fail to break USA jinx, exit Gold Cup
IAN BURNETT @ THE CONCACAF GOLD CUP ?in the USA
Monday, June 20, 2011
WASHINGTON DC, USA — Jamaica's participation at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament came to a crashing halt after they were beaten 2-0 by the United States here at the RFK Stadium yesterday.
Jermaine Jones gave the Americans a deserved lead with a deflected shot off Jamaican defender Jermaine Taylor in the 49th minute, and after the said defender had been cruelly sent off after the hour mark, the Americans wrapped up victory when Clint Dempsey connected on Juan Agudelo's pass inside the penalty area 10 minutes from the end.
WASHINGTON, DC, USA — The USA’s Michael Bradley (centre) gets closest to the ball ahead of Jamaica’s (from left) Rodolph Austin, Dane Richards and Eric Vernan during their CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final match at the RFK Stadium here, yesterday. The USA won 2-0. (Photos: AFP)
WASHINGTON, DC, USA — Players of the United States celebrate their first goal in the second half against Jamaica during their CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final match at RFK Stadium here, yesterday. USA won 2-0.
It was the second consecutive defeat for the Reggae Boyz by the Americans at the quarter-final stage, following the 1-3 defeat in the 2005 edition in Boston, and it was their third defeat to the supersized North Americans in Gold Cup Tournament play.
The Americans have also stretched their unbeaten record against the Boyz to 20 games, inclusive of two Olympic Games Qualifiers in 1972, when the teams met for the first time. The US have so far scored 11 victories.
Unfortunately, the Boyz saved their worst performance for last after they had gone unbeaten in group play with three wins from as many starts.
But yesterday they unwittingly abandoned their passing game, and became too easily confused by the off-the-ball movement by their opponents, which led to them chasing shadows for long periods and becoming too impatient when in possession of the ball, after a fairly decent first half hour.
They should have opened the scoring from as early as the fourth minute when Dane Richards intercepted a pass on the right hand side of the field at the half-way line. He dribbled by a couple of defenders and raced into the penalty box where he skilfully evaded another challenge before serving Rodolph Austin, whose miscued shot picked out Johnson on the left side of the six-yard box.
Tim Howard advanced and blocked with his legs, but the ball fell kindly to Luton Shelton more centrally located no more than 12 yards away from the unguarded net. However, to the disbelief of the Jamaican supporters inside the capacity 45,423 RFK Stadium, Shelton blasted over the horizontal.
Experience has dictated that such missed opportunities often come back to haunt, and for Jamaica, it certainly did, as goals build confidence at one end and deflate at the other end.
As the teams pressed for the early opening, Dempsey, who left his team following last Tuesday's win over Guadeloupe to attend the wedding of his sister in Texas on Saturday, saw Donovan Ricketts palm away his volley from inside the penalty area for a corner, which the Boyz had difficulty clearing.
The hosts, without much individual creativity, but embracing steady and uncompromising solid play, increased the tempo with their off the ball movements, and this appeared to have caused panic in the Jamaican defence, so much so that whenever the Boyz regained possession, they resorted to booting long, hopeful balls up field instead of playing their possession game, which had led to their success thus far.
Whenever they employed the passing game, the Americans were found wanting, as on the half-hour mark Austin released Johnson with a straight ball over the top and the San Jose Earthquakes forward turned his marker inside the box before setting up Shelton at the top of the area, but the wily striker tried to do too much and lost the clear opportunity to test Howard.
The Boyz then had to ward off a barrage of attacks for the remainder of the half as the US completely dominated play, but the LA Galaxy goalkeeper Ricketts kept his team in the game with a number of fine saves.
As the shambolic team defending continued in front of him, Ricketts easily tipped over Dempsey's 35-yard free-kick; kept out Juan Agudelo, the 12th-minute substitute for the injured Jozy Altidore; denied Eric Lichaj from inside the area and warded off a number of other threats.
In between, the Boyz countered on a three-man fast break, but Richards' end product was gratefully accepted by Howard from an acute angle.
There was an early sign that the Jamaicans had not cleared the cobweb from their heads during the half time interval, as they started the second half without Johnson on the pitch.
And within minutes they were behind, thanks to a wicked deflection. It was Taylor, who had out-jumped an attacker to head clear a deep cross, but the ball fell at the feet of Jones, who rifled goalwards from 30 metres. Ricketts seemed to have been comfortably placed to save, but Taylor stuck out his right boot and the ball deflected into the goal, wrong-footing the big goalkeeper, who was going left.
It was the first goal conceded by the Jamaicans in over three-and-a-half games at the tournament, their best ever, but instead of getting better, the Boyz were becoming more vulnerable.
On the hour mark, Ricketts, arguably the best goalkeeper in Major League Soccer, pulled off a miraculous one-handed save to deny Dempsey from just a few metres away from the goal.
The Boyz were the victims of inept officiating the last time they were at the RFK Stadium in a World Cup Qualifier against the Americans back on October 3, 1997, when ace defender Ian 'Pepe' Goodison was called for a hand ball penalty.
The incident had happened outside the penalty area, but the referee somehow missed it. Yesterday, Mexican referee Marco Rodriquez ensured that the trend continued, as he sent Taylor to the showers in the 66th minute for what he perceived to be a foul on Jones, who had broken away towards goal.
The Jamaicans' appealed for innocence as it was obvious that Jones had taken a tumble after the ball had gone, as the Jamaican slid in to challenge, but the appeal was waved off by Rodriquez, who did not hesitate to pluck the red card from his back pocket.
Television replays suggested that it was Jones who tried his best to draw contact from Taylor and should have been the one to be booked for unsporting behaviour.
The US made the game safe in the 80th minute when Dempsey had the easiest of tasks to tap home from close range after rounding Ricketts. The Jamaican defence was stretched and he benefited from composed team play between Landon Donovan, who came off the bench after he, too, had been granted permission to attend his twin sister's wedding in California on Saturday.
Being a man down and pressing to get back in the game, the Boyz were short on defence and they were lucky not to have conceded more goals.
It was good while it lasted, but the Boyz will have to await another opportunity to shed the monkey of not beating the US off their back.
Teams: Jamaica — Donovan Ricketts, Shavar Thomas, Jermaine Taylor, Adrian Reid, Jason Morrison (Keammar Daley 69th), Rodolph Austin, Demar Phillips, Eric Vernan (Jevaughn Watson 64th), Luton Shelton (Omar Daley 74th), Dane Richards, Ryan Johnson.
Subs not used: Dwayne Miller, Damion Williams, Richard Edwards, Navion Boyd.
Booked: Austin (16th), Taylor (ejected 66th)
USA — Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Michael Bradley, Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones (Maurice Edu 75th), Eric Lichaj, Sacha Kljestan, Jozy Altidore (Juan Agudelo 12th), Clarence Goodson, Alejandro Bedoya (Landon Donovan 65th).
Subs not used: Marcus Hahnemann, Jonathan Bornstein, Tim Ream, Freddy Adu.
Booked: Jones (26th)
Referee: Marco Rodriquez (Mexico)
Assistant Referees: Jose Luis Camargo (Mexico), Alberto Morin (Mexico)
Fourth Official: Walter Lopez (Guatemala)
Match Commissary: Victor Daniel (Grenada)
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1PrSaJ53l
Comment