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Salvadorean Media Critical Of “La Selecta”
Salvadorean outlets on Saturday were extremely critical of their national team after crashing out of the Gold Cup.
Jul 11, 2009 7:25:08 PM
MIAMI - There is an old football proverb that says “if you go for the draw, you’re going to lose.”
Carlos de los Cobos and his staff learned this lesson the hard way after losing to the Reggae Boyz Friday night 1-0 in a match that was more a battle of attrition than a football spectacle.
This game once again proves the old adage that necessity will trump history. El Salvador in the meantime regressed with each passing game and undoubtebly played their worst match of the tournament Friday night.
“What was supposed to be a celebration, ended up in a collective grinding of teeth."
Confidence was high for the Central American side that is mostly due to the level of play they showed in World Cup Qualifiers as well as in the opening match of the tournament against Costa Rica. In the end the large contingent of Salvadorean supporters were grasping at straws in desperation, mostly due to the inability of their team to generate offense. It seemed more event as the game wore on that the team with more urgency to obtain a result was the one from the Caribbean.
“El Salvador was a prisoner of the Jamaican attack. While Donovan Ricketts yawned in goal, Miguel Montes sweat bullets”.
All La Azul needed was a draw and they were in the quarterfinals of the tournament, but they were never able to find their way as they battled the men in green and yellow at their own game. After coming out very relaxed the nerves were apparent and the pounding that Jamaica gave them physically, despite the islanders tactical and technical limitations, began to take a toll on them. Eventually the team’s most consistent player- goalkeeper Miguel Montes- began to take over as protagonist of the game. When a team’s “number one” takes the mantle both offensively and defensively, there is huge trouble on the homefront.
El Salvador were never able to establish their game on the ground, the same style that counters the Jamaican speed and physicality. They constantly tried to play the ball in the air; a place there the Reggae Boyz would rule. Rodolfo Zelaya, who returned from a two-match suspension that carried over from the Copa UNCAF, was the only true threat of the match for 89 minutes. He was the only one to generate some type of offense. There was no offensive connection between him and an Osael Romero who once again was a shell of that player that wowed many in the tournament opener against Los Ticos.
The biggest threats to the Jamaican goal were the header in the 85th minute by Zelaya that was saved by Ricketts, who positioned himself well to make the save. Then goalkeeper Miguel Montes’ freekick in the dying moments of the match hit the left post leaving the Cuscatlecos out of the Gold Cup in disappointing fashion.
“Ticket… Back Home”
That was the headline in Saturday’s edition of Salvadorean sports daily El Gráfico had that as their headline and it is right on. So instead of La Selecta getting on a plane to possibly Philly or Dallas, they are on the first flight out of Miami to San Salvador.
Juan Arango, Goal.com
Carlos de los Cobos and his staff learned this lesson the hard way after losing to the Reggae Boyz Friday night 1-0 in a match that was more a battle of attrition than a football spectacle.
This game once again proves the old adage that necessity will trump history. El Salvador in the meantime regressed with each passing game and undoubtebly played their worst match of the tournament Friday night.
“What was supposed to be a celebration, ended up in a collective grinding of teeth."
Confidence was high for the Central American side that is mostly due to the level of play they showed in World Cup Qualifiers as well as in the opening match of the tournament against Costa Rica. In the end the large contingent of Salvadorean supporters were grasping at straws in desperation, mostly due to the inability of their team to generate offense. It seemed more event as the game wore on that the team with more urgency to obtain a result was the one from the Caribbean.
“El Salvador was a prisoner of the Jamaican attack. While Donovan Ricketts yawned in goal, Miguel Montes sweat bullets”.
All La Azul needed was a draw and they were in the quarterfinals of the tournament, but they were never able to find their way as they battled the men in green and yellow at their own game. After coming out very relaxed the nerves were apparent and the pounding that Jamaica gave them physically, despite the islanders tactical and technical limitations, began to take a toll on them. Eventually the team’s most consistent player- goalkeeper Miguel Montes- began to take over as protagonist of the game. When a team’s “number one” takes the mantle both offensively and defensively, there is huge trouble on the homefront.
El Salvador were never able to establish their game on the ground, the same style that counters the Jamaican speed and physicality. They constantly tried to play the ball in the air; a place there the Reggae Boyz would rule. Rodolfo Zelaya, who returned from a two-match suspension that carried over from the Copa UNCAF, was the only true threat of the match for 89 minutes. He was the only one to generate some type of offense. There was no offensive connection between him and an Osael Romero who once again was a shell of that player that wowed many in the tournament opener against Los Ticos.
The biggest threats to the Jamaican goal were the header in the 85th minute by Zelaya that was saved by Ricketts, who positioned himself well to make the save. Then goalkeeper Miguel Montes’ freekick in the dying moments of the match hit the left post leaving the Cuscatlecos out of the Gold Cup in disappointing fashion.
“Ticket… Back Home”
That was the headline in Saturday’s edition of Salvadorean sports daily El Gráfico had that as their headline and it is right on. So instead of La Selecta getting on a plane to possibly Philly or Dallas, they are on the first flight out of Miami to San Salvador.
Juan Arango, Goal.com
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