Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney goes over the keys to the US 4-0 victory over Grenada in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Against an overmatched opponent, huge gaps and time on the ball offer plenty of opportunities for combination play and interchanging of positions. Central midfielders Logan Pause and Kyle Beckerman held the middle secure, and played as many passes as they could to outside mids Robbie Rogers and Stuart Holden. Grenada couldn't contain either of them, and were so inept one-v-one they allowed many virtually uncontested crosses and clear paths to goal.
Freddy Adu slid into the hole behind Charlie Davies, and while sometimes those two were stretched 20 or 30 yards apart, Grenada's midfielders were often stranded in no man's-land and couldn't put pressure on the ball when it was played out wide. Adu drew out defenders as well by checking back into midfield, and by rarely turning while in possession, kept the ball moving with first-time balls that his teammates used to string six, eight, or 10 passes together.
Given plenty of space and passes, Rogers used his dribbles and cutbacks to constantly unhinge Grenada's defense, and the timing and weight of his touches was impeccable. He stripped Ricky Charles of the ball on the left side and then evaded Marc Marshall near the corner of the penalty area to slide a square ball that Adu tucked away for the first U.S. goal, and set up a second goal by chasing down a low cross from Holden that skipped through the goalmouth, then finding space near the byline to loft a chip Holden headed into the net.
Against an overmatched opponent, huge gaps and time on the ball offer plenty of opportunities for combination play and interchanging of positions. Central midfielders Logan Pause and Kyle Beckerman held the middle secure, and played as many passes as they could to outside mids Robbie Rogers and Stuart Holden. Grenada couldn't contain either of them, and were so inept one-v-one they allowed many virtually uncontested crosses and clear paths to goal.
Freddy Adu slid into the hole behind Charlie Davies, and while sometimes those two were stretched 20 or 30 yards apart, Grenada's midfielders were often stranded in no man's-land and couldn't put pressure on the ball when it was played out wide. Adu drew out defenders as well by checking back into midfield, and by rarely turning while in possession, kept the ball moving with first-time balls that his teammates used to string six, eight, or 10 passes together.
Given plenty of space and passes, Rogers used his dribbles and cutbacks to constantly unhinge Grenada's defense, and the timing and weight of his touches was impeccable. He stripped Ricky Charles of the ball on the left side and then evaded Marc Marshall near the corner of the penalty area to slide a square ball that Adu tucked away for the first U.S. goal, and set up a second goal by chasing down a low cross from Holden that skipped through the goalmouth, then finding space near the byline to loft a chip Holden headed into the net.
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