USA 2 – El Salvador 1
Wet conditions at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium did the United States National Team no favors on Wednesday night against El Salvador. In a game where the US dominated position and chances, they couldn't get their shots to fall. El Salvador made things worse, with Rudis Corrales scoring in the 59th-minute.
The USA continued to press and create chances in the El Salvador box, finally connecting with the head of second-half substitute Brian Ching who equalized in the 75th-minute. In the second minute of stoppage time, Sacha Kljestan took the ball at the top of the penalty area, played a one-two, and scored.
“We have some things to talk about,” US coach Bob Bradley told ESPN when asked about which of these players might make the roster against Holland. “But certainly it was nice to see Brian Ching come on the field in the second-half and I thought he played well…. I thought Sacha Kljestan had a good first-half… didn’t think the second was as good for awhile, but it finished real well.”
"I feel like in the January and February camps I tried my hardest just to get back in the team," Kljestan said. "And prove to myself, prove to the teammates and prove to the coaching staff that I want to be here and deserve to be here and can be a positive for the team. I think the game against Honduras wasn’t my best but I think tonight I played a little bit better and I hope to continue to get a chance to move on and be a part of the team.”
— GAME REPORT —
Match: USA vs. El Salvador
Date: Feb. 24, 2010
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Fla.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 21,737
Weather: 56 degrees, rain
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 2 2
SLV 0 1 1
SLV – Rudis Corrales 59th minute
USA – Brian Ching (Heath Pearce) 75
USA – Sacha Kljestan (Brian Ching) 90+2
Lineups:
USA: 1-Nick Rimando; 21-Brad Evans, 13-Jonathan Bornstein, 15-Clarence Goodson, 6-Heath Pearce; 14-Robbie Rogers (5-Geoff Cameron, 86), 16-Sacha Kljestan, 7-Kyle Beckerman (17-Dax McCarty, 79), 8-Brad Davis (3-Eddie Gaven, 46); 9-Conor Casey (11-Brian Ching, 46), 10-Robbie Findley (19-Jeff Cunningham, 68)
Subs not used: 1-Troy Perkins, 4-Chad Marshall
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
SLV: 1-Miguel Montes; 2-Alexander Escobar, 3-Marvin González, 5-Ramón Flores (20-Odir Flores, ), 12-Manuel Salazar, 13-Deris Umanzor; 7-Ramón Sánchez (capt.), 8-Osael Romero (14-Dennis Alas, 71), 17-Juan Carlos Moscoso; 9-Rudis Corrales, 16-Arturo Álvarez
Subs not used: 4-Mardo Henríquez, 11-Andrés Flores, 15-Alfredo Pacheco, 6-Shawn Martin, 18-Dagoberto Portillo, 19-Edgar Álvarez
Head Coach: José Luis Rugamas
Stats Summary: USA / SLV
Shots: 18 / 3
Shots on Goal: 11 / 2
Saves: 1 / 7
Corner Kicks: 9 / 1
Fouls: 14 / 10
Offside: 4 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Heath Pearce (caution) 85
Officials:
Referee: Silviu Petrescu (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Philippe Briere (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Belleau (CAN)
Fourth Official: Edvin Jurisevic (USA)
