Read the other post from tonight first. This is for the second half.
Some halftime thoughts:
Jozy Altidore was great for about 30 minutes. His involvement was less productive in the latter stages of the first half, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him withdrawn sometime in the second half as long as the US are still in the lead. A lot of people have been speculating about whether or not Jozy can play as the center forward. From the first half, it seems to me that he's not physical enough to play that role. He's such a handful as a second striker, though. My goodness.
Donavan has been on the ball so much this game. El Salvador did a good job keeping him out of the game, but he's been up and down the left flank for the US today.
T & T haven't gotten numbers forward - at all. When they go forward, it's with John, Jones, Edwards, with maybe one more.
45:00: Second half kicks off. One sub for T & T. Shaka Hislop, the famous goalie from the '06 world cup's cousin has come in. I missed who went out.
45:52: Audacious shot from one of the T & T players. High, wide, and not very handsome.
47:10: Dempsey loses the ball on a forward run, but in all honesty, there was nobody moving in front of him, so he can be forgiven for his act of selfishness.
48:15: Us throw high up the field. Ching pushed over ten yards outside the box. The big men get forward, Donavan's over it, and...
49:10: Bocanegra gets to it, and he should have done better. Should be two nil, or five, counting the good chances from the first half.
49:55: Ching could have released Donavan up the line, but he plays the ball out of bounds. Should have been better, but now he wins another foul in the attacking half.
50: 38: Donavan's free kick is cleared by Ince to the halfway line, and T & T have a bit of break.
50:58: Won back by Bradley, but T & T have it back.
51:44: Some bad touches from T & T lead Ince to play it out for a throw.
52:37: The US are passing it around comfortably, and OH MY WORD, Altidore gets hacked to the ground. Yellow card - finally - for A. Edwards.
54:16: The US had four men going forward - two in the center with space, but Dempsey is too slow with pass, and T & T recover.
55:00: Birchall is withdrawn and looks far from pleased about it. The eyes are rolled back up in the head. Well, he better suck it up.
55:50: Beasley's speed is necessary to keep Edwards from a good through ball. Then Dempsey has an opportunity at the other end, but he fouls, and T & T have the ball back.
57:08: Apparently Altidore plays defense too. And it leads to the best US attack of the half. Ince bobbles the ball, but nobody's around, and the counter is on! Edwards beats Beasley, showing off his lightning fast speed. But John's touch is bad and goes straight to Hward.
58:28: Altidore called for a foul - very harsh. He would have been through up the right wing too. Disappointing from the ref.
60:15: Good attack from T & T. Jones gets a shot off from 14 yards and dead center, but puts it over. That was the best chance for T & T. Will they get another?
61:00: Dempsey shoots from 30 yards. Useless.
61:30: What? Onyewu won the ball, but a foul has been called in the D. It's very close, almost too close, but dangerous nevertheless.
62:30: And... the first shot is into the wall, and the second one is not great, and Howard collects. Once senses that game may have shifted just a bit towards T & T at the moment. Another strange foul drawn by T & T, but this in their own half.
63:30: And now another. This is just ridiculous. From the ensuing free kick, though, the US finally wins a foul in their own box. About time, and ironic cheers can be heard by the crowd.
64:41: Altidore wins a challenge in the attacking half, but it goes out for a throw. Now Dempsey wins the ball, and the US have a throw.
65:53: Good ball forward by Bocanegra, and perhaps if Ching hadn't gotten a head on it, it would have dropped for Donavan.
66:35: Hejduk wins the ball in the back again, but the ball forward goes straight to Ince.
67:27: Good posession from the US. Donavan is on the ball a lot, and all the touches are in the T & T half.
68:43: Still T & T can't posess the ball in US half. Now they do, finally, but the ball winds up in Howard's gloves.
69:33: Beasley goes flying after an awkward tackle from Hislop, but no foul - he did win the ball before cleaning out Beasley, and the Us have posession with a throw.
70:20: ALTIDORE!!! Great run from Donavan past Hislop (gets what he deserves), and the cut back for Altidore still leaves one man to beat, and boy did he beat him. Dempsey had done well to win the ball. Reminiscent of Fernando Torres to get past the center back and the finish is all quality. Altidore's the man.
72:16: The US still have the ball - I'm not quite sure when the last time was the didn't really have the ball.
72: 30: They've now announced that T & T made their last substitution during the break after the goal.
73:55: Ching fouled in the attacking half. It's probably too far out to be significant, though. A good ball into the box is likely. Ince comes for it, and now Edwards is in space.
74:30: Jones loses the ball in the corner, though, and Howard's got the ball.
75:35: It looked like the T & T player was one on one with howard, but Hejduk came out of nowhere to win the ball with a fantastic sliding challenge.
76:15: Now Dempsey is fouled eight yards outside the box. This could be a shooting opportunity, but I suspect another ball into the box.
77:00: Onyewu is called for a foul as the ball winds up in the back of the net. It really doesn't look like a foul, and it erases what would have been one of the most awkward goals I've ever seen.
78:18: Ching offsides.
78:50: Awkward for ince. He had come far out to take the offsides free kick, and a deep ball bounced awkwardly about thirty-five yards from goal. In the end he plays it with his knee, and it's still T & T ball.
79:32: Hejduk clears a good ball for a corner, from which T & T head the ball about 12 yards wide. It looks like Jose Torres will be coming on for the US.
80:25: And it will be Ching coming out as Torres goes on. Altidore is now the sole forward, and one assumes Donavan will push up to play as the second striker.
81:38: Bad ball from Dempsey, and T & T have the ball in the US half.
81:55: How many times have I said this? Good tackle from Hejduk to disposess Edwards.
82:36: Kljestan looks to be coming on, as Hejduk wins yet another ball. Why isn't this man playing in Europe???
83:12: Jones makes a good run, but the ball is just too heavy, and Howard wins the ball.
83:46: Dempsey is the player withdrawn as Kljestan comes on.
84:22: Good move from Torres, but Ince clears. Now Altidore is through in the box, but it's too wide, and his cross is over Bradley. Torres puts the ball back in, but it but Donavan's shot is inches wide.
85:42: Bradley with a shot from the top of the box, but Ince saves. The rebound should have been followed up by Donavan, but he was being lazy.
86:32: Donavan releases Torres, but the defender puts it out for a corner. Cleared for a throw.
87:49: The game's chilled a little bit. The players are walking around.
88:36: Goal! Bradley is through on goal, and instead of taking a shot, which was definitely called for, he cross badly for Donavan, who again, instead of shooting, lays it back to Altidore. The finish is not all that great, but it squeezes under Ince. And the man's got his hat trick.
90:00: Torres makes a good sliding challenge at midfield, and that's the game. Good play from the US; bad play from T & T. But it was really necessary for the US to come out and play well tonight, regardless of the result, and that's just what they did. Altidore with three goals. The kid's 19 (that's younger than I am). Donavan with three assists.
10 minutes later, and Frankie Hejduk is still running around the field.
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