USA - Guatemala Post Game [R]

[Czar Jake]

USA 2
Guat 0

The most satisfying part was Ruiz getting booked for diving. Other than that the ref was awful, disallowing a Donovan goal and missing a Guat handball in the box. USA got the win but it could've/should've been a much bigger win.

[Aero]

I couldn't agree more. The ref was absolutely terrible. He didn't call anything for the US, yet every time one of their players was looked at funny and fell down, they got the call. I was beginning to wonder if the ref was from Germany.

Other than that, the team looked much, much better tonight than they did Sunday. They pretty much dominated the game, especially in the second half.

[Rover]

1. Great play by Eddie Lewis and Steve Ralston on the wings. They should share man (men?) of the match.

2. Donovan better than on Sunday, but not at his best. Turned it on in the second half. Robbed of a goal.

3. Gibbs over Berhalter ANY DAY. Bocanegra outstanding. Overall, defense very strong. Ruiz didn't have a chance.

4. Mastroeni subpar for him, but good enough.

5. Keller not tested much but stepped up when needed. World class save in the second half. I was worried coming into the hexagonal about his age and if he'd lost some skills. He hasn't. Once again, the U.S. has an embarassing amount of talent at keeper.

Concur on the ref--not impressed. Thankfully, we didn't need him to do a good job. We thoroughly dominated a smaller, slower, and less skilled team.

Good effort by the U.S.--rates a B+.

[Czar Jake]

Yes, the team did much better. Of course they were playing against a weaker opponent but they still deserve credit for actually attacking this time.

Donovan played a bit better (should have had that goal) but overall he still doesn't look as good as I expect from him. Ching was not good, messing up passes and missing opportunities. Johnson had a nice game, and the rest of them all looked good. Good job to get the 2nd goal for Ralston.

Onyewu looked much better in the back, but Bocanegra made his share of errors. Keller was the man, as usual.

Good job USA! See you in SLC!

[montgjules]

This was a fun game to watch. US had tons of good chances and could have won by a very large margin, but didn't seem to get it IN the net as often as they got it a foot or two above/to the side. They still dominated offensively and didn't seem to let the ball get past the midfield very often at all. The US defense was less tested than in past games, but did well enough, obviously!

The ref was ridiculous.

The game was very fast-paced. They seemed to play every minute as if it was the last and they were down by one.

I may have missed some of the action due to the two babies on my lap, one visiting teacher, one relief society presidency visit, and one toddler. But what I saw was excellent. I was going to invite over some of the Utah Countyites but couldn't pull it off in time. Maybe another time.

[bordelais7]

I've seen worse officiating, but only in the NBA.

Was Ralston on-side on his goal? I couldn't tell on the replays.

The big difference was the US ability to get strong runs down the sides and get some good crosses in. Lewis is becoming one of my favorite players. Would have been MOTM for sure if he would have scored on his chance in the 2nd half.

The most satisfying part was Ruiz getting booked for diving

Yes, yes and yes! The looks on his face were priceless. At least this official wasn't as fooled by Ruiz' tactics as a lot of MLS refs tend to be...

[Jose Luis Luviano]

Guatemalan newspaper blames their midfield

Ralston did not appear to be onside to me. But when you make it to a World Cup Quarterfinals, and your fans create an atmosphere like ours did last night; the Enigmatic CONCACAF refereeing will work in your favor at home.

Wow, Jules, you beat my record. I only had one infant and one Captain Of The 2023 WWC Champions to take care of when I watched the end of US-Guatemala and Panama-Mexico. How do you do it?

Deuce, Aero & Lucky, did you notice the new fans we may have "converted" last night?

Off in a corner, behind where we were sitting, were some Iggy's customers who appeared to be Latinos. They were watching the game intently. Maybe they will be in our section for US-Costa Rica?

[Deuce]

Originally Posted by Jose Luis Luviano

Deuce, Aero & Lucky, did you notice the new fans we may have "converted" last night?

Off in a corner, behind where we were sitting, were some Iggy's customers who appeared to be Latinos. They were watching the game intently. Maybe they will be in our section for US-Costa Rica?

Yeah we lost our close screen because they could not see so the waitresss came up and moved our screen so that group could see and we had to watch the TV on the other side of the bar.

I understand them(Iggy's staff) taking the match off of the big screen for the Jazz game was because it was an advertized match but, and I am trying not to be biased here, whenever I looked around the place it did not seem that anyone was watching the Jazz and it did seem that there were more people straining to see the small screens that the soccer game was on.

Next time we go there we will have to make sure their is not a Jazz game on.
It was fun but not as exciting and fun as it could have been if there had been more people and more screens.

[AreliusII]

One of the most entertaining matches US has played in a long time. I loved every minute of it. The only question mark was Bocanegra. I had to scratch my head a couple of times at how open he left the ball. He certainly is not an offensive player. He is solely a destroyer.

I loved Onyewu. He was obviously determined to atone for his mistake against Mexico. He covered Ruiz like a blanket. He was very dominating. I look forward to watching him for years to come.

Eddie Johnson: What can you say. The boy has a VERY bright future. I love his control on the ball. He is an all around complete footballer.

Donovan looked good this time…

I liked how Mastroeni played…

Eddie Lewis had an outstanding match. His crosses remind me of Beckham’s crosses.

Ralston rocked! I’m glad to see him back in the USMNT.

Thank goodness Reyna didn’t play again this match or he would have just slowed things down. I have the highest respect for Reyna but I really think its time for him to retire from international play. I think we have enough talent in the midfield that we can do without him. I think Mastroeni is good enough to take his place.

Cory Gibbs had a great match.

Cherundolo had probably his greatest match that I’ve seen.

Clint Dempsey was only on for a couple of minutes but I was very impressed at his confident. He went right at the keeper and almost scored.

I got chills watching the match thinking that the next qualifier is right here in Salt Lake City. I hope we pack the stadium.

…And oh yea, the ref sucked…

[AreliusII]

U.S. vs. Guatemala Quote Sheet --- World Cup Qualifier – March 30, 2005

U.S. Head Coach Bruce Arena
Opening Comments:
“It was a very good performance from our team. Probably the final score is not an indication of our dominance. I think we were very good tonight. If were at fault at anything, it’s not finishing off a few more plays. But I think it’s one of those nights where you can’t single out any one player for a good performance, because there were a number of them. Basically, our entire team played well. It’s a great performance after three games, with two on the road and six points. We’re right on schedule, so I’m pleased."

“Our top five attacking players played quite well tonight. Ralston and Lewis on the flanks were excellent. It was a great effort."

“We had to get points tonight. We’re pleased. It’s important to win your games at home. If you would have asked me after three games, we want to have five points, and we have six. So we’re a little bit ahead of the curve right now.”

On comparing Guatemala win to Mexico loss:
“You can never compare games. It’s a completely different game. I can say this until I’m blue in the face, but you can’t play like this in altitude as a visiting team. You just can’t do it. I know you people can’t appreciate that. You’re gonna come up with great theories on we didn’t play two strikers or this or that. That’s idiotic. It’s really about adapting to those conditions, and it’s difficult. You play one of the best teams in the world in difficult conditions. You cannot play the kind of game we were able to play tonight."

On missed opportunities in the first half:
“You go in at halftime and scratch your head. We could have had three goals at halftime. And when you have a team like Guatemala with Ruiz, he could pull off a play at anytime. He might be able to sell a penalty kick, which he tried tonight. So you never know. We’re at fault for keeping them around for too long. It took us too long to get the second goal. That would be our criticism tonight. Ruiz was a handful and we won that battle."

Goalkeeper Kasey Keller
On coming off of Mexico loss:
“Obviously, in this game you saw that we were able to press quite high the entire game. You just can’t do that at 7,500 feet and in that smog in Mexico. That was our game plan, to put them under pressure, and cough up a few balls to create a few chances. We could have scored five or six today, but you have to give credit to Guatemala. They kept in the game and had a couple of chances at the end to get back into the game."

Forward Landon Donovan
On the match:
“First of all, Pablo is awesome. It made my job a lot easier. It’s just nice to play the way we want to play at home. We have two big guys in front of the goal, and they put the ball exactly where it needs to be every time. Everytime they cross the ball, it’s dangerous. They were fantastic. It was good to see (Ralston) get rewarded for his goal."

“We played 15 or 16 games without losing, and we have one bad five minutes against a very good team at an incredible altitude and nasty smog, and all of a sudden we’re the worst team in CONCACAF. This should make for some peace and quiet for a week. We needed that."

On first goal:
“It was kind of a layoff, and then Eddie (Johnson) did well to finish it."