The Match Report

Dateline:

JANUARY 23, 2010

USA vs Honduras

The Home Depot Center, Carson, CA, USA

“I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack, it grew by one.”

- Alan Garner (as played by Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover)

The morning dawned brilliant and hopeful, after the torrential rains had moved out of the area.  The 18 players that comprised the US National Team knew what today’s stakes were from the moment their Kai-lan alarm clock first shrieked “Ni Hao!”  [Yes, I do have a young daughter, how did you know that?]

With the World Cup set to kick off roughly 137 days, 19 hours, and 25 minutes from the start of this match (not that anyone is counting), the players were hoping to impress Coach Bob Bradley.  This game alone would not make-or-break any single player’s chance, however a good showing against a quality opponent would further their chance of making the squad in June.

In 2006, a certain player by the name of Jimmy Conrad showed well in the January camp, paving the way to a triumphant World Cup debut against a little team called the Azzurri—eventual 2006 World Cup Champions, Italy.

At this point, however, all of that is in the past.  The present is now… although you will be reading this in the future, it will be YOUR present.  And your present is this…  Well, now this is quite embarrassing.  I went into the kitchen in the 16^th minute and must have forgotten about the game…  No worries, based on the previous 4 matches between the two opponents, I will fill in the blanks with what surely happened.

The US controlled the bulk of possession and pressed deep into the Honduran defense time and again.  Eventually, the pressure paid off when a driven cross was volleyed into the side netting.  One – nil to the USA!  Just before halftime, the US struck again when Benny Feilhaber caught Honduran ‘keeper Donis Escobar off his line with a long-range blast.

After the halftime break, the match settled into a natural rhythm with the US controlling the midfield.  In the 83^rd minute, the US put the game out of reach.  A fine save by Escobar, tipping a point-blank shot by Robbie Findley over the bar, resulted in a US corner.  Brad Davis delivered a pin-point ball to the far post and found the head of an onrushing Jimmy Conrad.  It was the US captain’s 2^nd goal in international play.

After the match, Conrad summarized the game thusly:  “I tried not to let the yellow card I picked up in the 6^th minute affect the way I played.  Thankfully it all worked out for the best tonight as the better team on this day prevailed.”

The opinion expressed in the retelling of this game is of the author, fanista, and not of the JimmyConrad.com staff (save for one) or of Jimmy Conrad, who sighs when thinking about what could have been.  Any comments or concerns for fanista should directed to his email at fanista@jimmyconrad.com.