Slovenia and USA draw thriller
Posted: Jun 18 2010
Slovenia were denied a place in the last 16 of the World Cup by a fine USA comeback.
Having slumped to a 2-0 deficit at the interval, Bob Bradley’s men responded superbly after the break to earn a 2-2 draw.
It was Slovenia who were better in the first half, deservedly leading thanks to goals from Valter Birsa and Milivoje Novakovic, but Landon Donovan’s powerful shot from a tough angle pulled the Stars and Stripes back into the game just after the restart and Michael Bradley got the equaliser.
Zlatan Ljubijankic headed a free kick over the American goal before a cross from Birsa nearly picked out Milivoje Novakovic. Slowly the pressure was building, yet there seemed to be little danger when Birsa gathered possession 25 yards from goal and smacked a swerving drive past the impassive Tim Howard to score.
Slovenia doubled their advantage three minutes before the break. Ljubijankic cut the American defence in two with a through ball to Novakovic, who finished neatly.
A double change by US coach Bob Bradley reaped an instant reward. Donovan pounced on an error from Cesar and advanced into the box down the right channel before lashing the ball high into the net from a tight angle.
In the 82nd minute a high ball forward was knocked down to Bradley, who timed his run into the box brilliantly. Despite leaning back and stretching desperately to reach the ball, the Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder powered the ball high into the net to make the score 2-2.
And the USA seemed to have the game won when Maurice Edu thumped home a Donovan free kick from close range, although the goal was disallowed for a seemingly non-existent foul.
Slovenia showed their resilience with couple of good late efforts, but Howard pushed away a firmly struck Aleksander Radosavljevic drive to ensure his side’s comeback wasn’t to naught.
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: 2010-06-18 18:13
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