Game 14 Recap: Ghana 1-2 USA

GHANA 1-2 USA

A late goal from a substitute defender and 80+ minutes of heroic defending by the Americans gave them the revenge they have been seeking since it became known they'd open against Ghana.

For Ghana, it's a bitter pill to swallow having worked incredibly hard to fight back in this game only to have everything taken away at the very end.

It was a dream start for the U.S., as captain Clint Dempsey scored in the opening minute what was the 5th fastest goal in World Cup history. A nice flick on from Jermaine Jones put Dempsey in a one-on-one situation with Ghana defender John Boye, A deft touch got Dempsey past a sprawled Boye and Dempsey then carefully slotted the ball inside the far post to take the early lead.

It looked for a few minutes as if the U.S. might blow the game away but Ghana settled in and the Americans found themselves back on their heels.

Controlling possession for the most part, Ghana had difficulty navigating a path through the American midfield, opting instead for long balls over the top of the U.S. defence. Largely ineffective for most of the first half, Ghana did have their share of scoring chances as Tim Howard had to dive to stop an Asamoah Gyan shot and the central defence had to deal with cross after cross from Christian Atsu who ate up DaMarcus Beasley at left back. The half ended with a flubbed shot from Jordan Ayew in great scoring position.

Ghana somehow turned the pressure up higher in the second half. Buoyed by substitutes Michael Essien and Kevin-Prince Boateng, Ghana began to abandon the long balls and work their way more methodically through a U.S. defence that often saw all 10 players behind the ball. Gyan continued to threaten with his head on crosses in to the box and saw at least 2 balls just miss Howard's goal.

With the end in sight though, Ghana finally struck. Some give-and-go play from Gyan and Andre Ayew turned the American defence around and Ayew made no mistake on his point-blank shot against Howard.

There was sense that some American magic was left though and it came in the closing minutes. Awarded a cheap corner kick by Jonathan Mensah, John Brooks rose up for an uncontested header and buried it past Adam Kwarasey for the winning goal. It was an improbable goal from a player only on the field after Matt Besler was injured and again it was Boye who lost track of his man.

Besler won't be the only injury concern for the U.S. coming out of this match. Jozy Altidore pulled up in the first half with an apparent hamstring injury and had to leave the game. And Dempsey took a shin to the face from Boye while contesting a header which appeared to break his nose.

Goals

Ghana: Andre Ayew (82')

USA: Clint Dempsey (1'), John Brooks (86')

Discipline

Ghana: Mohammed Rabiu (Yellow 30'), Sulley Muntari (Yellow 90+2')

USA: N/A

Man of the Match

Given to Clint Dempsey and his goal was truly excellent. Realistically could give this to anyone in the American central defence who were under torrid pressure at times and did well to check the always-dangerous Gyan.

Key Moment

John Brooks faked he was going inside on a corner, took a step back and perfectly directed the ball home on a header for the winning goal in the 86th minute. Ghana equalized with plenty of time left and based on the run of play it appeared any remaining goals would go in their favour. Brooks was the unlikely hero though securing the win for the U.S.

What we learned from the USA

Plenty of heart and tenacity but any observer could have told you that about the U.S. already. The good: the defence held up remarkably well against an often frantic Ghanaian attack. The bad: Difficulty moving the ball through the midfield and unable to handle the pace of Ghana particularly on the wings. Ghana figured out late they could work their way inside rather then fire crosses from far away. The U.S. is lucky they didn't do that sooner.

What we learned from Ghana

Too content to launch long balls in the direction of Gyan and count on him to finish it off. They have so much speed and talent on the ball, for the life of me I couldn't understand why they stayed on the wings with the U.S. bunched so tightly. Defensive line as a whole was alright in what limited work they had but John Boye was exposed on both goals. Couldn't handle the nimble feet of Dempsey and completely lost track of Brooks. I understand the decision to sit Essien and Boateng at the start to get a bit of defence on the field. They should be featured in every game though (Boateng at least).

Going Forward

For Ghana, with dates against Germany and Portugal left it would take a miracle to get out of this group. For the U.S., they can conceivably advance with a draw against Portugal provided everything else falls their way. I don't think they can get that result based on tonight's play. Ghana was able to slice through the middle of the field when they wanted to and the U.S. offered little offensively and will likely be without Altidore going forward. Will take an even larger defensive effort and may be too tall a task for the U.S.