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The Indiana Daily Student

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‘Revolutionary War, part 2’ ends in tie

South Africa Soccer WCup England US

In sports, there’s winning and there’s losing.

Or, in this case, there are ties.

The United States battled back Saturday from an early one-goal deficit against England to tie 1-1. 

Both teams were hyped up by months of anticipation, leading to an emotional start. However, England was ready and they struck an early goal off captain Steven Gerrard in the third minute. 

“(On the throw-in), the ball went back to (Frank) Lampard and we stepped up to close him down. Next thing you know, there’s a big hole in our back line,” USA coach Bob Bradley said. “When you use the word ‘manage,’ the ability to control certain situations and not over-commit, I think England made us pay.”

It was the dream start for England and a nightmare start for the United States.

“I was pretty annoyed because the marking was a little too lax, particularly for the beginning of a game, when you’re supposed to be really up for it,” USA goalkeeper Tim Howard said. 

From that point on, however, the USA squad seemed to settle into the game and created offensive chances of their own, including a strike from Jozy Altidore and a header from Oguchi Onyewu. 

The game turned on end in the 41st minute when USA midfielder Clint Dempsey unleashed a strike from 30 yards out toward goal. 

England goalkeeper Robert Green went down on one knee to parry the shot aside, but it took a bounce, deflected off his arm and rolled into the net. The United States had tied the game at 1-1. 

“These balls move so much, if you just hit them on goal you’ll have a chance,” Dempsey said. “It’s one of those goals you always say ‘Why can’t I get one like that?’”

Green felt Dempsey’s shot was one he clearly should have saved.  

“It’s very disappointing, but it’s happened,” Green said. “I’ve been in this situation before, and it’s about holding your head up high, facing you guys (the media), taking the flak, which is going to come. The most important thing is not to let it affect myself.”

Scoring so close to halftime re-energized the U.S. squad, and they came out more aggressive in the second half. 

On the flip side, giving up that goal severely hurt England and put the team on the defensive for quite some time before they recovered the attacking skill used in the first half. 

“It came as a shock (to concede like that) and took us a while to get over it,” Gerrard said. 

Both teams came close to taking second half leads as well, and there was a feeling in the crowd that the next  to score would win. There were several moments where it looked as if someone would score and take home a victory for his country.

In the 66th minute, Altidore  used his strength to power past the defender before taking a shot that Green parried onto the crossbar. 

Howard made some game-saving saves in the second half, including one from speedy winger Shawn Wright-Phillips, who found himself open with time and space in the box before Howard saved his shot. Howard was taken for testing after the game, after being kicked in the ribs during the first half.

In the end, neither could muster another goal, and the game finished with a tie. 

USA captain Carlos Bocanegra was happy with surviving the physical battle with one point instead of none. 

“That’s how we play. We play scrappy, we play hard, we fight for 90 minutes in a big group effort, and tonight it showed,” Bocanegra said. “It was a really big team effort ... something you need against a big team like England.” 

Even England manager Fabio Capello didn’t have many complaints.

“We created a lot of chances to score goals. We pressed a lot and played a good game, but one mistake cost us a goal,” Capello said after the game. “I am pleased with the performance of the team, and I think the next game we will be better.”

Next, Team USA takes on Slovenia on June 18.

“I think it’s important for us to use our momentum from this game and to push it towards the next two games,” Onyewu said. 

In the end, Bradley echoed the player’s sentiments and seemed ready to move forward. 

“We’ve said it so many times that we understand what the first round is about, but we were still excited to start the World Cup playing against England,” he said. “It’s a big game and a big night, and overall we take away positive things as we now get ready for Slovenia.”

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