2.19.13
ASN Morning Read: A Nervy Victory for the U-20s
Mario Rodriguez and the United States U-20 squad escapes with a 2-1 victory over Haiti in the opening match of the CONCACAF Championship; Brek Shea nears his debut; FIFA enters the 21st century.
BY
Jesse Yomtov
Posted
February 19, 2013
7:46 AM
The U-20s started off the CONCACAF Championship with a 2-1 win over Haiti. Luis Gil converted a penalty kick in the third minute to give the U.S. an early 1-0 lead after Daniel Cuevas was brought down in the penalty area. In the 26th, Cuevas blasted in a goal far post from a tight angle. Haiti scored in the 49th minute to make it a one-score game and was largely in control of the second half, squandering a number of opportunities to equalize. It wasn’t pretty, but three points is three points. “There were some good moments for us, but we have to maintain that for a longer period of time if we are going to be successful in this tournament,” Tab Ramos said. If Costa Rica beats Haiti tomorrow, the U.S. clinches a spot in the quarterfinals.
Here’s Cuevas’ tasty strike:
DaMarcus Beasley was in attendance, albeit running behind schedule:
And offered his scouting report on Haiti’s Jean Dany Maurice:
Brek Shea started and played 60 minutes in a closed-doors friendly against third-tier Scunthorpe United. Sure it was a meaningless match, but a number of Stoke’s regulars also played, which might mean that manager Tony Pulis plans to deploy Shea soon. His real debut could come on Saturday against Fulham.
Americans Outlaws’ D.C. chapter has a shot of some of the new U.S. centennial swag. That Donovan shirsey doesn’t seem too timely right now, eh?:
Joe Gyau wasn’t in the 18 for St. Pauli’s 1-0 loss to Cologne, which Steven Goff reports was due to a sore knee and that he’s due back next week.
FIFA got with it and says that it will use goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup, as well as this summer’s Confederations Cup. The camera-based Hawk-Eye system and GoalRef, which uses magnetic sensors, were used at the Club World Cup in December, and FIFA says two new German systems have completed tests.
