US boots Jamaica out of qualifying for Cup
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- United States national team coach Bruce Arena was planning for the future last night. But Arena was also playing to win, the US's 1-1 tie with Jamaica eliminating the Reggae Boyz from World Cup qualifying.
Arena gave five players their first World Cup qualifying experience, including the Revolution's Clint Dempsey, Steve Ralston, and Taylor Twellman, plus San Jose's Ramiro Corrales and Manchester United's Jonathan Spector, grandson of an original Boston Celtic, Art Spector.
The US, which had already qualified for the next round, played the final 17 minutes with 10 men, following the ejection of Oguchi Onyewu, in extending its unbeaten streak to 29 games against regional competition. But the US started the match on the offensive and concluded in an attacking mode, Dempsey breaking free on a 50-yard run before failing to get off a shot in the penalty area in the 86th minute.
Ed Johnson, who is to join Manchester United on a training arrangement next week, scored for the US, and former Revolution midfielder Andy Williams equalized for Jamaica with a penalty kick. But Panama's 3-0 victory yesterday over El Salvador vaulted the Canaleros over Jamaica in the standings, one of the most surprising results of the qualifying tournament, joining Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, and the US in the final round, starting Feb. 9. Jamaica is now 1-6-3 under Brazilian coach Sebastiao Lazaroni.
"This wasn't about us putting Jamaica out," Arena said. "It was about us playing and trying to win and looking at some other players. It was a fair result. The final 20 minutes tested our team and the young players, and to get out with a point makes you feel good."
The goal was Johnson's fifth in his first 61 minutes of national team playing time. Johnson showed poise in finishing with a left-foot shot into the far side of the net in the 15th minute. Johnson went in alone on goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts after speeding into position following a Landon Donovan-Ralston-Pablo Mastroeni combination. Johnson became the second US player, the first since former Pittsburgh Steelers and Boston University coach Aldo "Buff" Donelli in 1934, to score five goals in his first three US games, and seemed on the verge of extending those records. In the fourth minute, Johnson pressured Damion Stewart, producing a scuffed clearance by Ricketts. Nine minutes later, Johnson whiffed on an open chance from about 12 yards, then slammed a shot off Ricketts.
But the Jamaicans regained their composure, and Stewart was replaced by Jermaine Hue, one of the least experienced and most obscure of the Reggae Boyz, in the 24th minute. Hue placed his stamp on the game with his first touch, spinning away from two US players, and adding dynamism to the midfield.
Three minutes later, Hue again disrupted the US midfield, then found Ricardo Gardner advancing from his left fullback position. The US was caught off balance by a throw-in, allowing Portsmouth striker Ricardo Fuller to run along the end line, where he was felled by Corrales, referee Mauricio Navarro awarding the penalty kick. Williams converted the kick to tie the score in the 27th minute.
Dempsey entered in the 66th minute as a substitute for Corrales, soon contributing with accurate touches as the US attempted to keep possession, especially after Onyewu was ejected after a second caution, in the 73d minute. Spector replaced Ralston in the 77th minute. "I made some rookie mistakes, giving the ball away, but I got positive feedback," said Dempsey, who will begin training with Feyenoord in the Netherlands tomorrow. "I did some good things, as well. We were playing to win and [Arena] told me he wanted me to get involved in the attack, that the defensive midfield was a little too conservative, and to take it at them a little."
