Herculez Gomez & Kevin McKenna fight for the ball. (Getty Images)
So fans of US Soccer were wondering which US team would show up tonight, the team that handled Scotland 5-1 or the team that looked brutally bad in the loss to Brazil? In the end, it wasn't quite either. While the US side didn't have total defensive meltdown that they did against Brazil, they didn't have any of the attacking creativity that they showed against Scotland either. The final result was a goalless draw in Toronto that Canada should have won.
It was an exciting night to start for the USA. Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey were starting together for the first time since Jurgen Klinsmann took over, and hopes were high for some decent offensive output from the two best Americans on the pitch. It really didn't come off though.
The Canadians were more than happy to let the USA come out and play kickball. Klinsmann's boys spent a good portion of the first 45 minutes kicking the ball around the edge of their offensive third, but really couldn't get much traction against a very organized and determined Canadian defense. The lone real highlight of the first half, as far as the Americans were concerned, came in the 15th minute when Fabian Castillo lobbed in volley from 35+ yards. It looked like it might creep under the bar, but Canadian 'keeper Lars Hirschfeld tracked back and tipped it over for a corner.
Canada really should have had a lead going into halftime though. In the 34th minute Dwayne De Rosario got the ball to Nik Ledgerwood on the USA left flank. Ledgerwood smacked the ball into the goal to seemingly give the home side the 1-0 lead, however the linesman raised his flag for seemingly invisible foul and the goal was disallowed. DeRo told Kyle Martino that he asked the linesman about it at halftime, but the linesman could not tell him who the foul was on or the circumstances.
Things really didn't get any better for the Americans in the second half. In fact Canada spent a lot of time on the front foot. They peppered Tim Howard with shots, but nothing really troubled the Everton 'keeper. The match had 0-0 draw written all over it.
Both teams took a shot late on though. In the first minute of stoppage time DeRo sent a nice centering pass into the six yard box. Simeon Jackson got to it, but somehow poked it wide of the near post, leaving the Canadian fans in agony. Then the USA nearly stole it in the final minute of stoppage time. Michael Bradley sent a ball into the box and it found the head of Clarence Goodson, who put the shot on target. Fortunately for Canada Hirschfeld jumped up and made a great save, preserving the draw on the Centennial Celebration of the Canadian Soccer Association.
Both teams will play World Cup qualifiers later in the week. On Friday Canada will play at Cuba and the US will host Antigua and Barbuda in Tampa, FL.
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