Ukraine Tops United States In Friendly Match

 2-0 

Political instability in the Ukraine was the looming factor in today's international friendly match against the United States.  The match was originally scheduled to be played in the Ukraine, but civil unrest and a foreign military presents forced the match to be relocated.  The United States met the Ukrainian national team in Cyprus for the friendly in a near empty stadium.

The Ukraine opted to fielded a more experienced side while the United States had a more jumbled line-up as coach Jürgen Klinsmann continues to search for the right combination.  The defense for the U.S. was particularly suspect with a struggling veteran Oguchi Onyewu and an inexperienced John Anthony Brooks in front of Howard in goal.

The Ukraine scored early in the first-half when Denis Garmash beat the offsides-trap to create a shot on target.  Keeper Tim Howard did well to stop the initial shot, but the rebound came back to Garmash.  He then laid the ball off to Yevhen Yarmolenko who scored with an easy tap-in finish (12').

After the break both teams made several changes over the course of the second-half as friendlies allow more substitutions than tournament matches.  One of the substututes for the Ukraine was Marko Devic who was quick to contribute.  A long ball over the top allowed Devic to run right through the U.S. defense and get a shot at goal.  Again keeper Howard made a good save to deny the initial shot, but the rebound fell to Devic who scored with the second chance (67').

The United States were outplayed for nearly the entire match.  There was a moment in the second-half when the U.S. showed signs of producing a goal, but the best chances did not find the net.  Starting forward Josy Altidore only had one real chance and he missed high with a header.  Clint Dempsey's best chance was really a half-chance that was snuffed out by Ukraine keeper Pyatov coming off his line.

Winning was not nessessarily the goal for the United States in today's friendly match, rather further assessment for Jürgen Klinsmann heading into the World Cup.  The Ukraine team did not qualify for the World Cup so for them the match was about pride and maybe even distraction.  In this sense the match was a success for both nations as the Ukraine get the satisfaction of victory and Klinsman now knows more about his players.  Most noticably, Klinsman knows John Anthony Brooks is nowhere near ready for the national side.

Liverpool Win Merseyside Derby

 4-0 

Liverpool's attack was a non-stop onslaught today as the Reds hosted Everton in a Merseyside Derby.  Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge started at forward for Liverpool and together they gave Everton's defense all kinds of trouble.

Throughout the match Everton keeper Tim Howard had his hands full as Liverpool peppered the goal with shots.  Inevitably the goals came and captain Gerrard first found the net on a corner-kick.  Suarez delivered the corner-kick into the box and Gerrard won the header at the near-post to score (21').

Durring the corner-kick that put Liverpool ahead, Everton striker Romelu Lukaku went down with an injury.  Steven Naismith replaced Lukaku, but failed to make an impact on the match.

Daniel Sturridge then scored a pair of goals to stretch Liverpool's lead.  First Sturridge was played in-on-goal by a perfect pass from Coutihno.  The pass split two defenders and Sturridge had plenty of time to pick his spot (33').

Sturridge scored a second goal immediately after when Kolo Touré played him in-on-goal.  Touré smashed a ball forward from behind midfield that Sturridge was able to get onto and flick over keeper Howard coming off his line (35').

In the second-half Suarez added another goal to the Liverpool's tally with a terrific individual effort.  Suarez made a run with the ball from the midfield line all the way into Everton's box.  He finished with a confident left-footed shot to the back corner of the net (50').

Sturridge had a golden opportunity to complete the hat-trick when Liverpool won a Penalty.  Raheem Sterling made a run into the box and was fouled by Howard trying to stop the winger.  Sturridge missed the penalty over the crossbar though, and was soon taken out of the match.

Everton could not produce a goal by the end of the match as Liverpool won comfortably.  The Suarez-Sturridge tandem continues to fuel the offense for the Reds and today the defense was equally effective, keeping a clean-sheet.  Up next Liverpool face West Bromwich and Everton host Aston Villa in Premier League play.

Özil, Deulofeu Score in Arsenal-Everton Draw

 1-1 

League leaders Arsenal were back at the Emirats Stadium today as Everton came for the last match in the fifteenth round of the Premier League.  The Gunners won their last three league matches while Everton have gone unbeaten since early October.

Shots were scarce in the first-half and fouls outnumbered the shots 13-8.  Possession was heavily in favor of Everton, but the better chances went to Arsenal.  Only two shots tested keeper Tim Howard and the first-half ended scoreless.

It was obvious Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was unhappy with his team as the second-half continued and he made all three changes at once replacing Cazorla, Ramsey, and Wilshere for Walcott, Rosicky, and Flamini with about twenty minutes remaining.

Everton boss Roberto Martínez also made changes to his squad, one proving to be an important change.  Just after Gerard Deulofeu entered the match Arsenal scored the first goal of the match.  Rosicky played a ball into the box that Walcott headed down for Giroud in front of goal.  Giroud completely whiffed his shot, but fortunately Mesut Özil was right behind him and finished from close range to break the dead-lock (80').

The late-goal was not a heart-breaker for Everton though, and the visitors responded moments later.  Substitute Deulofeu also benefited from a whiffed shot, Lukaku's attempted bike-kick, that set him up in front of goal.  Deulofeu did well to separate himself from defender Gibbs before scoring the equalizer (84').

The game ended in a 1-1 draw with each team earning one point.  Arsenal remain in first place and Everton stay just outside the top-four of the league standings.  Everton host Fulham next weekend while Arsenal travel to Italy for a Champions League match before a crucial league game at Manchester City.

Lukaku Lifts Everton Over Newcastle United

3-2

Everton hosted Newcastle United today in the Monday night game of the Premier League.  Everton lost midfielder Marouane Fellaini to Manchester United earlier this month, but loaned Gareth Barry from Manchester City and Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.  Newcastle thought they were losing Yohan Cabaye, but the French international is still with the club and started today's match on the bench.

Everton were the better team at the start and scored on their first chance early in the match.  Kevin Mirallas drove down the right flank and picked out Lukaku in front of goal.  Lukaku hit the shot first-touch to beat the keeper, putting the home side ahead (5').

Lukaku then had the assist in the goal scored by Ross Barkley.  Playing a perfect through-ball to split the Newcastle centerbacks, Lukaku setup Barkley who finished well to put Everton up by two (25').  Keeper Tim Howard then setup another goal for Lukaku with a long ball out of the back.  Newcastle defender Colocchini and keeper Krul both miss-played the long ball giving Lukaku a tap-in finish (37').

At the start of the second-half Newcastle made two substitutions; one in defense with Williamson replacing Yanga-Mbiwa and one in the attack with Cabaye replacing Ben Arfa.  Both changes were effective and Newcastle turned the game in their favor.  The defense kept Everton from scoring again and Cabaye scored a quick goal for Newcastle to give them life.  Cabaye hit a well struck ball from distance that curled into the far corner to beat keeper Howard (51').

Newcastle worked a number of shots in the second-half that tested the keeper and scored a second goal near the end of the match.  Striker Loïc Rémy muscled out defender Jagielka for position and scored to close the gap to only one goal (89').  Newcastle ran out of time though and Everton held on through stoppage-time.

Costa Rica Snaps U.S. Win Streak

3-1

The U.S. Men's National Team went south to Costa Rica for a World Cup Qualifier rematch.  Costa Rica have been vocal about their protest of the first meeting in March that featured a snow storm in Colorado.

Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan started for the U.S. while Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore were out with injuries.

Costa Rica got off to a perfect start and scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the match.  Defender Acosta got forward on a corner and scored a near-post header (2)'.  Shortly after Bolaños delivered a cross that setup Borges in the box for another header finish (10').

Late in the first-half the U.S. got one back when a penalty was given following a foul by keeper Navas.  Fabian Johnson was tripped by Navas trying to reach a loose ball in the box and saw a yellow card for the infraction.  Dempsey stepped up to take the penalty and he was successful from the spot (43').  His shot was practically right down the middle and Navas got behind the ball, but he could not turn the shot away from his goal.

The second-half started to look better for the United States as Costa Rica played more defensive to protect their lead.  This allowed the U.S. to possess more and press forward.  However one big play by Costa Rican forward Campbell took all the wind out the sails for the U.S.  A long pass out of the back released Campbell who beat defender Besler in a foot race to the ball.  Campbell finished confidently, going through the legs keeper Howard coming off his line (75').

This loss snaps a twelve game winning streak for the United States, but more importantly it keeps the race to the 2014 World Cup much tighter.  The United States will host Mexico on Tuesday in another important World Cup qualifier.

Altidore Scores Hat-Trick in US Friendly

3-4

The US Men's National Team travelled to Sarajevo to play an friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina today.  Team USA had a number of changes to their line-up from their previous match, the Gold Cup final, and got off to a slow start.

Manchester City's Edin Dzeko put Bosnia and Herzegovina in front early in the match when he found space behind the US defense.  His initial shot was saved by keeper Tim Howard, but the rebound came right back to Dzeko and he finished with his second chance (8').  Later in the first-half Ibišević also scored for Bosnia on a second effort corner by winning a header (30').  The replay showed that Ibišević was slightly offsides, but since the game was a friendly, the US did not protest much.

After half-time Bosnia and Herzegovina made four substitutions while the US only made one.  The changes to the Bosnian team opened the door for the United States, especially Jozy Altidore.  First Altidore setup Eddie Johnson with a goal by trapping and laying off a well played ball over the top (55').  Soon after Fabian Johnson was able to play Altidore in-on-goal for his first score of the match (59').

Following the equalizer, the US and Bosnia made more substitutions including Aron Johannsson making his debut for the United States.  Johannsson made a positive impact on the game, creating two good shots on goal.  However it was Altidore who made all the plays for the US.  From a free-kick, Altidore scored his second of the match with a perfectly struck shot, curled into the upper-ninety (84').  Moments later Altidore completed the hat-trick when he scored after being played in behind the defense by Bradley (86').

Dzeko also had one more goal late in the game, finishing with a glancing header to the far-post (90').  The game ended with a final score of 4-3 in favor of the United States.  Bosnia and Herzegovina are not really known as a football powerhouse, but right now they are leading their World Cup Qualifying group and are ranked 13th in the FIFA world rankings.  Although it was just a friendly match, this is a good win for the US as coach Jurgen Klinsmann has shown he can win with a number of different lineups.