US score a coup in Honduras

First, I want to thank the Krafts or whoever was responsible for getting CBS Scene at Foxboro to purchase the closed circuit broadcast for the U.S. Honduras game. Without that I would not have been able to see one of the best games the U.S. has ever played.

So once the New England Revolution game was over we trooped down to the entrance for the closed circuit viewing party. We met a new friend in line (Herb) who was gracious enough to offer the one member of our group who didn't have a reserved seat, an extra seat he had. We then heard that the upstairs was open and all went upstairs and the 5 of us squeezed around a booth. It was an interesting way to watch the game.

Honduras started out a fast and were carrying the attack to the U.S. The U.S. however had the best chances in the first half as Bocanega hit an open header over the crossbar and Davies scuffed a rebound over everyone with an empty net in front of him after drawing a great reaction save from the goalkeeper on a header of a Holden cross. Casey (yes that Casey) looked good in the first half and was doing a nice job as the target forward. He has much better control then Altidore and seems to have better footwork then Ching. Having seen him play against the Revs and against Everton in the MLS all star game, I was wondering if he could translate that to the bigger stage of the National team. He had some appearances under Arena before he was injured and had some moments in the Confederations Cup and Gold cup, but not as a starter. So it was somewhat of a surprise to see him start. I have felt that with a full game he would wear down defenders and begin to create space. And in the second half that is what happened. But first we had to have the classic CONCACAF reffing call of a foul on Onyewu for what replays showed were a clear dive by the attacker. The Honduran converted, but unlike the game against Costa Rica, it seemed like the goal pissed off the U.S. players and they started to take the game to Honduras. Casey got a classic Casey goal using his size to hold off the goalkeeper and head the ball into the net. The thing I like about Casey is he uses his size intelligently. He doesn’t throw elbows, he doesn't grab, he positions. His second goal showed off his footwork. Then Casey draws a foul and Donovan hits a great free kick to put the U.S. up 3-1 and I am thinking we've got this.

Of course not. Honduras pulls back a goal after no offsides was called with three players at least two feet offside. But, hey this is CONCACAF, if the U.S. doesn't get a few bad calls it wouldn't be right. And then Holden commits a bonehead handball foul in the box (similar to the bonehead foul he committed against Holland in the Olympics) and the Hondurans are awarded (rightly) a P.K. Fortunately Pavon skied it over the crossbar and it was all over but the shouting. The U.S. came back from the goal deficit to score 3 in a row and dominated play for long stretches of the second half.

A couple of additional notes - for all those saying Holden should start for Dempsey (and I have seen many) Holden has a penchant for silly fouls. The one against Honduras (which fortunately didn't cost the U.S.) the one against Holland in the Olympics - which cost the U.S. a chance to advance out of group play and there have been others. He is a wild card in a bad way. For those who say we should have qualified a while ago, this was the strongest Hexagonal I have seen. Usually there are at most 3 good teams, but this year one could make the argument that there were 5 good teams. So now we go into the Costa Rica game with no pressure.