Well then. Quite the comeback, wasn't it? Down 2-0 on the road, in an extremely hostile environment (one day we'll have that here, I hope), the United States salvaged a point with goals by Jozy "I should be starting everywhere I play" Altidore, and the ageless surfing wonder, Frankie Hejduk.
Match report and thoughts after the jump.
For the first sixty or so minutes of the match, everything went El Salvador's way. The opening goal in the fifteenth minute cowed the Americans even more than the raucous crowd, and "frazzled" suddenly became the word of the day.
The middle of the field was a mess, Landon Donovan disappeared, and it never seemed as though the U.S. was going to ever get back in the match. A beautifully headed goal by El Salvador's man of the match, Cristian Castillo, and it appeared as though El Salvador would walk away with three crucial points.
Bob Bradley, whose starting lineup was unable to create any significant chances as originally formed, made the perfect tactical moves when they were absolutely necessary. Jozy Altidore came on for Heath Pearce in the sixty-first minute, and DeMarcus Beasely slid into the vacated fullback spot. Torres entered shortly thereafter, in the seventy-first minute, replacing the ineffective Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan just never looked comfortable in the middle of the field, and may have relinquished his starting role with a poor performance.
Subs on and down 2-0, Frankie Hejduk sparked the American attack. After an overlapping run on the right, his driven cross found the head of Altidore. Lingering at the back post and unmarked, Altidore took his chance and brought the U.S. back into the match. 2-1 El Salvador, and what had been a ridiculously loud Estadio Cuscatlan quieted noticeably.
It wouldn't be long until the game was level, with the tying goal once again involving Hejduk. Landon Donovan's corner was hit into the box dangerously, and Salvadoran keeper Juan Jose Gomez, himself a substitute after El Salvador's starter Miguel Montes left injured, attempted to punch the ball clear. It came perfectly to Hejduk's head, and the defender put it away. 2-2, all of the air gone from the building, and loss turned into a point. Whew.
Alright, enough of the match report stuff. Let me just say that the time wasting tactics used by El Salvador in the second half were ridiculous. No matter that the referee added seven minutes of stoppage time; the Salvadorans sucked the energy out of both the American comebacks attempts and the match itself in a way that shames the sport.
Just a quick rant. Maybe you'll get 800 words on it at some point, depending on how angry about it I remain.
To close this out: If you read the live blog, you know that most of us had lost the faith down 2-0; this match was the perfect example of why soccer is such a fantastic sport. No matter how dire things seem, as long as there is time on the clock, good things can happen. The better team didn't win tonight, but they certainly showed grit and determination on a level that bodes well for the future. Good on Bob Bradley for making the right changes, they might have been the thing that saved the day.
Now if we could just get him to start Jozy...
