USA vs. Poland (Running Commentary)

The U.S. national team's friendly vs. Poland is set to kick off shortly and if you are by a computer and want to follow along you can camp out here at SBI.

I will be doing a running commentary on the match and you are more than welcome to share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match.

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FINAL- USA 3, Poland 0. I know Poland was using several young players but the USA definitelydominated a match they were probably expected to lose. Aside from the forwards, the American squad from top to bottom enjoyed a really good showing. Who would have thought we'd see the day when the USA could beat a European Championship qualifying team on the road by a 3-0 scoreline?

Thanks for following the match here and continue to share your thoughts and opinions on the match below.

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92nd minute- Eddie Johnson with a chance to run in behind the Poland defense and manages to get caught and not even get a shot off.

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91st minute- Dempsey has looked strong? Clint Dempsey?

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86th minute- Clint Dempsey has been basically invisible tonight. The lack of playing time at Fulham is definitely taking its toll.

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85th minute- Benny Feilhaber coming in for Heath Pearce. Let's see what he can do here. Expect plenty of lineup shifting.

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84th minute- Eddie Lewis is playing great here. Who says he's too old?

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79th minute- Jay DeMerit comes close with a header off a Lewis free kick.

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78th minute- The free kick was blocked.

And another thing. Where are the "Why is Bradley calling up Eddie Lewis" people now?

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77th minute- Poland with a dangerous free kick.

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73rd minute-GOAL USA. Eddie Lewis with a BEAUTIFUL free kick goal. Artur Boruc had NO chance. USA 3, Poland 0

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72nd minute- Jonathan Spector coming in for Cherundolo. For those of you keeping track, Spector has gone from Nashville to England to Poland in six days.

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71st minute- I would LOVE to know what Poland fans are chanting right now. Sounds like "Sing when you're winning" but somehow I doubt that's it.

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67th minute- The best part about this match? Playing an opponent that doesn't dive and whine and pretend it wants to fight. It's all business. Makes for a clean match.

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63rd minute- Wolff for Ching, Demerit for Onyewu and Lewis for Donovan.

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61st minute- Here come some USA subs

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57th minute- Eddie Johnson back-pass. DRINK!

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56th minute- Oguchi Onyewu just got owned, luckily the chance went high (was tipped over by Howard).

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55th minute- The Poland fans are in full voice, No "You only sing when you're winning" going on in Krakow.

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53rd minute- Poland made wholesale subs at halftime but its attack still isn't clicking.

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50th minute- Heath Pearce with another good play. He's having a solid game today.

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49th minute- I'll give Donovan credit for creating that chance and showing some explosiveness. Would have been good of him to finish and show he can score on European soil.

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48th minute- Donovan misses a breakaway. WOW. That should have been a goal.

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46th minute- And we're back.

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HALFTIME- The Ching-Johnson combo must do better with the chances it gets, though to be fair there hasn't been a ton of service to them.

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HALFTIME- USA 2, Poland 0. Two set pieces lead to goals as the Americans actually outplayed Poland in the run of play. The U.S. forwards need to do better but it has been a solid effort all the way around otherwise.

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46th minute- Good stuff from Heath Pearce this half.

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44th minute- Eddie Johnson gets a turnover on a platter in the Poland penalty area and can't convert as his shot is blocked.

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38th minute- New drinking game. Every time Christopher Sullivan says "Fantastic" we all drink.

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36th minute- Donovan's corner kick was perfection, placed right in front of goal. Poland's defending on set pieces has been laughable.

And here's another corner kick for DOnovan.

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35th minute- GOAL USA!! OGUCHI ONYEWU heads home a Donovan corner kick. WOW. USA 2, Poland 0

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34th minute- This 4-4-0 formation isn't working too well for the Americans (Um, Ives, it's a 4-4-2). What? There are forwards on the field for the USA?

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32nd minute- Cherundolo with some class defending. He is the best right back in the U.S. pool by a mile.

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31st minute- Great save by Howard after some shaky defending from the USA.

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30th minute- Poland corner kick. Here comes danger.

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26th minute- Nice sequence from the U.S. team, good passes, until Ricardo Clark turns it over.

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25th minute- I'm not saying Brian Ching's crosses have been awful but Frank Hejduk is back home thinking, "Ching's crosses are terrible."

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21st minute-No Max Bretos, Clint Mathis plays at Ergotelis, Zurawski plays at Larissa. Slight difference.

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19th minute- Okay, it's time for the Eddie Johnson back-pass drinking game. I know it's the afternoon, but why not?

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16th minute- The Americans are winning the possession battle early.

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14th minute- Back to the goal, what was that some folks were saying about Landon Donovan's free kicks?

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12th minute- GOAL USA!! And it's Carlos Bocanegra. Take that Roy Hodgson.

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11th minute- Eddie Johnson goes at Poland's defense...then gets stripped. Looks a bit familiar.

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9th minute- Okay, I'll say it. I like the unforms.

There's Heath Pearce getting turned. He's another one with a lot to prove today.

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7th minute- Bradley looks sharp early on. Ching with a nice run but terrible cross.

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5th minute- I'm wondering if the central midfield tandem of Bradley and Clark will be able to control possession today. The young duo is coming off a shaky game against Mexico but Poland's central midfield isn't as strong as Mexico's.

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3rd minute- I wonder if Ivan Putzki is at this match (For those of you younger than 30, he was an old WWF wrestler from Krakow, Poland).

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PRE-GAME- These uniforms look like club team unis.

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PRE-GAME- Not sure about these American uniforms.

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PRE-GAME- The crowd in Krakow is rocking. This is going to be a great environment and great test for the Americans.

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PRE-GAME- Here is the USA lineup:

---------------Ching----------Johnson-------------

Donovan-----Clark---------Bradley---------Dempsey

Pearce------Bocanegra------Onyewu-------Cherundolo

----------------------Howard-------------------------

With all the issues on the left flank it is interesting to see Donovan as an option there.

The Ching-Johnson tandem will be an interesting one to watch. Also, the Clark-Bradley tandem didn't play too well against Mexico so we will see how it does today.

Comments

[Jeffrey]

Three Fulham players starting this one.

[kpugs]

I'm so tempted to follow along. But I'm Tivoing this badboy. Must...not...come back...to SBI.

[kswiss]

Thanks in advance for the commentary. I'm at work so I can't watch live. I have to say, I like the starting lineup, with Donovan/Dempsey as the wingers and Ching/Johnson up top. It will be good to see how Dempsey does on the wing after having played up top so much recently. I would have preferred Benny over Clark to pair up with Bradley, but I understand why he's not starting. Hopefully Bob will give him some good playing time.

[Chris]

Is Landon really playing on the left? That's interesting...

[Jonny]

I know the game is on FSC but does anyone have a link where I can watch it online?

Thanks!

[john]

----------------------Howard-----------------------
Cherundolo----Onyewu----Bocanegra (c)-------Pearce

Dempsey-----Clark---------Bradley---------Donovan

---------------Ching----------Johnson-------------

[PanchoMiguelMoralesdeConejo]

Love the lineup. Love Deuce and Donavon on the wings.
----------------------Howard-----------------------
Cherundolo----Onyewu----Bocanegra (c)-------Pearce

Dempsey-----Clark---------Bradley---------Donovan

---------------Ching----------Johnson-------------

[Jeffrey]

Jonny, Go here: http://www.tvunetworks.com/
Select the channel labeled "soccer" (FSC)

[Jonny]

Thanks Jeffrey!

That's an amazing site that actually gives great quality! Go USA! Bradley is on a scoring rampage, he better net one in!

[Justin]

Anywhere to watch on the internet? I don't see it on ESPN360!

[ManicMessiah]

Hopefully Dempsey has a good game on the wing, and Roy Hodgson happens to catch this match.

[Jim Steverson]

Donovan is very unselfish when it comes to his USMNT duty. He'll play whenever and wherever he's asked to. If he can provide some cover on the left in an emergency situation, it'd be good to find that out from a friendly.

[eric]

Crazy - has LD ever played on the left wing? Still, I'd rather see if that's an option for emergency purposes than plugging in Lewis.

I'm very psyched to see what I think now is our best choices at LB & RB

Wow! Polish crowd is belting out their anthem!

[Seisco]

Did anyone just see that wink by the Polish player?

[Marlon]

does it lag a lot? because i'm watching it on sopcast and wondering if i should try that out.

[Justin]

Anyone that is watching, how do the new jerseys look?

[Jim]

I predict the first sub for the US will be Feilhaber in for Clark. I don't expect the Bradley-Clark will work well prompting the change around half.

[Tom B.]

The jerseys look evil! I like 'em!

[Marlon]

never seen those uniforms before. they kinda look like goalie shirts

[Spencer]

Kinda wanted Spector to start. The away jerseys are nice, but shouldn't they represent the colors of our country. Just a thought to the genuises that make them.

[Joamiq]

Love LD and Demps on the wings, was hoping to see Benny for Clark, but otherwise am pleased. I personally think the kits look pretty badass, if a tad dull. Let's rock and roll!

[Dominghosa]

I hear ya, kpugs. I'm actualyl working right now. This would be my lone contribution for a few hours until I catch the match on my DVR tonight. Have fun, fellas...

[Ernie]

Jerseys don't look bad...wish they were more blue than gray though. I like the that the jersey matches the shorts...looks sharp.

[eric]

I'm onboard with the jerseys, and as a bonus, the GAM's golden shoes actually work well too.

Very, very curious to see if Gooch picks up a card today, word is his cards are way down in Belgium?

[RHdigitalYS]

In all the leaked pictures of the jerseys, they looked very blue-black. All the grey makes them look a bit washed out.

[ManicMessiah]

Any chance this lineup ends up playing more like a box midfield than a flat four?

[Andolini]

Why do we always play Poland? Thank God we are playing England and Spain pretty soon.

[eric]

and there the ad pops up to buy 'em!

[David Martinez]

IVAN PUTSKI! THE POLISH HAMMER!

Damn Ives, good throw back!

[eric]

I want to see some overlapping runs by young Bradley!

[eric]

Chingy with the take on the dribble!

[Spencer]

I have a good feeling about this one. We look good early.

[Spencer]

Pearce is running around like a chicken with its head cut off

[David Martinez]

Jerseys look like Darth Vader gear. I love it.

[Collin]

Thanks for the commentary, Ives! I'm interested to see how the Ching/EJ tandem works out.

[RHdigitalYS]

Pearce has looked a bit jumpy so far. Is this the first time he's started for the US?

[NYRB]

The new Uniforms are horrible. The color is killing me. I prefer the black shirt from MAN-U or Roma.

[Dave Martinez]

WOW PEARCE GOT KNOCKED! OOOOOF!

[Daniel]

I want to see Eddie Johnson treat Poland like his bitch. He may have the speed, but he lacks the killer instinct.

[Dave Martinez]

YES YES YESYES YES YESYES YES YESYES YES YESYES YES YESYES YES YESYES YES YESYES YES YESYES YES YES!

[Daniel]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

BOCANEGRA!!!! 12TH MINUTE ON THE FREE KICK!

[Jeffrey]

O Captain my Captain!

[Furniture Music]

Goal Boca..............negra from the Bambino Landon!

[SkiFast!]

So it's gray top on gray shorts?

What color are the socks with this new kit?

[RHdigitalYS]

GOAL!

[Tom B.]

Yeah!!

[YankatOxford]

GOAALLL!

[Daniel]

Great free kick by Donovan & Bocanegra somehow, got his header to squeeze inside the far post and in the net. Great job by the USA early in the 1st half.

[Joamiq]

Perfect finish by Boca, but more stunning - a good delivery from LD!

[Furniture Music]

I actually like these uniforms much more than the Blue pin stripe jobs...

[Daniel]

Just in case anyone is concerned or curious. Barbados & Dominica are scoresless in the 2nd leg of their qualifiers 44th Minute. The aggregate is 1:1

[Spencer]

Up early this is good.

[Daniel]

Good cross from Cherundolo & a nice header by Brian Ching. Just right at Boric.

[Rocco]

Donovan must be taking personalized lessons from King Beckham.

[Spencer]

Has anyone thought about Dempsey play CAM?

[Rob]

SkiFast!--

The socks are the same color, so it's an all-grey/anthracite kit.

I am wondering if they will have alternate away shorts in white for some matches...

[Jeffrey]

Eddie looks terrible

[Yossarian]

Maybe Landon felt the heat in watching Adu's strikes in the U-23s, or maybe he's picked up some pointers from his Galaxy mate.

[KingSnake]

Go to http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2008/03/usa-vs-poland-r.html#more

Click refresh

The page totally falls apart. Wierd ...

[PanchoMiguelMoralesdeConejo]

18:30 Gooch looks good and faster than I remember him in this game covering a lot of ground.
EJ with ANOTHER poor pass. He needs to settle and look for hi slots

[Yossarian]

Reid with the trifecta: homophobic, stupid AND terrible timing. Way to go, Reid.

[JesseMT]

This is our best available lineup. Once DMB is healthy, stick Dempsey up front, move Donovan back the right, and that's it.

Donovan is much better on the left than Convey, Lewis, etc....

[Trevor]

Really digging those USMNT Away jerseys, team is looking good on the whole, can't stand to watch EJ lately, i've yet to see him take somebody on with his back to goal.

[Spencer]

Ching with an awful shot.

[Dave Martinez]

Ah man I love those jerseys! America = The Evil Empire.

[PanchoMiguelMoralesdeConejo]

24 Ching terrible shot on a breakaway, put it on net Mr. Hawaii.

[gimmi]

hey guys,
im trying to watch the game on tvunetwork.com.
but for some reason where the media player should be all i get is a small red cross on the top left. anyone have any idea how i can get rid of this

[RHdigitalYS]

US moving the ball around pretty well now. We're starting to settle in a bit.

[eric]

Not a good minute for Pearce, at both ends

[PanchoMiguelMoralesdeConejo]

27th good work by Dolo on an opening off a long ball by Poland. Howard with a save.
28th Dempsey with a half-pike dive, doesnt get the call

[Yossarian]

disagree on Jesse's lineup - I'd say our best lineup would be:

Altidore
Donovan

Beasley -- Adu -- Bradley -- Dempsey

Pearce or Spector -- Boca - Gooch - Stevie C

though you could probably exchange LD, Adu, and Demps any way you want

[Joamiq]

Ives, thanks for calling our Bretos. That was idiotic. He should keep his mouth shut, even if he is doing play by play.

[Spencer]

Pearce with an awful clearance that almost costs us.

[eric]

Wow, defense is good, but do we really need all 11 in the box on a corner in the 28th?

[RHdigitalYS]

Howard's ceiling is much higher it's scary.

[David Martinez]

YEYAYEYIKGAEKjhAEHAUEYHIAYEYIAAIAYYYEA!!!!

GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jeffrey]

Goochy Goo Goo!

[IBJ]

11th Commandment. Thou shall not take the name Mathis in vain.

[Spencer]

Beckham must have been tutoring Donovan all off season. Sure he wasn't at Arsenal with Beckham?

[Daniel]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL

GOOCH BABY!

AND DONOVAN HAS ANOTHER HELPER!

[Tom B.]

And a second goal from our other center back!

[kswiss]

Sounds like, from MatchTracker and on here, that Pearce has performed the worst so far. Is that about right? And how does Bradley-Clark look today?

[eric]

Funniest part of the goal - seeing EJ shrinking away from the ball coming his way. Oh well, kinda worked as a screen!

[YankatOxford]

GoalllL!

[Spencer]

Bradley and Clark don't look today actually.

[RHdigitalYS]

Landon with the amazing ball again.

[Jim Nguyen]

what's going on? since when can LD cross like that? awesome.

[Trevor]

GOOOOCH, hopefully that'll get some managers from German, France, Spain, Italy or Holland on the phone with Standard de Liege

[Joamiq]

Hey Zeus! Landon has really been working on his deliveries! I can't believe what I'm seeing! WAHOO!

[Igor]

wow, Gooch is fast for such a huge man

[Trevor]

It looks like LD has been having some one on one after hour free kick/set piece tutoring lesson with becks.

[David Martinez]

Eddie draws a corner!

And . . . .

too much jostling . . . .

AND . . .

jostling again . . . .

AAAAND a YELLOW for POLAND . . . .

AAAAAAAAAND . . . .

kicked away another corner . . .

AND . . . .

plays dead. Ah well. Hoping for another goal.

[kswiss]

Yes!!! I guess Landon has been learning from Beckham. And Ives, I guess this strengthens your argument about the Boca-Gooch pairing being the best we have, though I've always agreed with that to begin with.

[Daniel]

33rd minute goal. Corner kick by Donovan and all Oguchi Onyewu had to do was put his head down and run into the ball. Great goal and up by a brace.

[zilla]

I love the jerseys. It gives us a badass menacing look.

[eric]

kswiss - Pearce hasn't wowed, but I'm really not impressed with Clark (tackle while I type this not withstanding)and EJ

[RHdigitalYS]

Oh man, little bit forward and Dempsey would have had an excellent chance for the third.

[Daniel]

Poland now resorting to diving tactics.

[JesseMT]

AHHHHH Spector does not play for Fulham. ARRRRGH!

[Jeffrey]

Clark with very poor passing. EJ with too much passing and too little effort