U.S. men draw with Mexico in first game of Klinsmann era: A fan’s reaction

In the first game under new manager Juergen Klinsmann on Aug. 10, the United States played Mexico to a 1-1 draw at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

For me, that was actually a good result.

The draw broke a streak of three straight losses to Mexico, two of which were on U.S. soil. The USA had been outscored 11-3 in those three matches. The last American victory against Mexico was a 2-0 win in a World Cup qualifier in February 2009. Mexico still leads the all-time series 32-15-12. Yet, 10 of the 15 wins for the U.S. have come since 2000 in a series that dates back to 1934.

Our side probably should have had a better chance to get their 16th win in the series, but referee Raymond Bogle blew calls left and right in the second half.

Here were the two most egregious:

Bogle missed was a clip on the leg of Los Angeles Galaxy captain Landon Donovan which brought him down inside the penalty area. Amazingly, there was not even a foul given for the take-down, much less the penalty shot that it deserved. Near the end of the match, Mexico defender Gerardo Torrado pulled down Robbie Rodgers by his shirt on a breakaway. Torrado was only shown a yellow card. It was worth nothing less than a straight red card.

It was an absolute shame that Bogle let Mexico get away with the cheap plays. The Mexican side was wilting from the pressure of the attacking style the USA surprised them with in the second half.

In a mostly listless first half for the U.S. that produced zero shots, Mexico scored in the 17th minute when Oribe Peralta lost Michael Bradley for a second and got his foot to a cross and beat Tim Howard. Juan Agudelo, Brek Shea and Robbie Rodgers were second-half subs who got the ball forward at will and produced the U.S. goal in the 73rd minute with a nice combination of passes that left Rodgers with a empty-net tap-in.

As a Galaxy fan, I was livid that Donovan was not awarded the penalty kick, but I guess we should be used to the national team getting jobbed by referees by now.

More from Patrick Johnston:

Galaxy stay at top of power rankings in Week 21

Galaxy should cut their losses with Juan Pablo Angel

Beckham tied for MLS assist lead

Source:

"Mexico 'not leaving satisfied' after 1-1 draw with USA in Philadelphia", Sports.yahoo.com

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