Early goals doom US in Costa Rica

Before the US even had a chance to settle in they found themselves down 2-0 to Costa Rica Wednesday night.  A 2nd minute goal from Alvaro Saborio and a 12th minute goal from Celso Borges put the Americans in a hole they could never get out of.  It was just a case of really poor defending all night long.  Simply the player choices did not work out.

Demarcus Beasley at left back was a failure and although Michael Bradley did alot of work he never seemed to get the important tackle in.  Costa Rica simply used the home crowd and the poor field conditions to their advantage and were the better team on the night.

The US had alot of possession in the 1st half, but never created any dangerous chances at all.  The 2nd half saw Costa Rica jump to a 3-0 lead when Pablo Herrera Barrantes turned Bradley and fired a low shot past Tim Howard.  Landon Donovan pulled one back when he converted a penalty kick in stoppage time.  It was the first time the US had scored in Costa Rica since 2000.

Costa Rica moves to the top of the group on 9 points while the US still sit 2nd on 7. The American squad returns home for a Saturday match in Chicago against Honduras who sit 4th on 4 points in the CONCACAF region in World Cup qualifying.