The United States' 'B' side struggled to break down a very poor Venezuela team, but eventually managed to win the game thanks to a very late header by second-half substitute Ricardo Clark. In truth, it wasn't a very impressive match, with the USMNT fielding mostly second string players thanks to the European-based big guns being in the middle of their seasons, and the MLS stars largely misfiring.
USA Vs. Venezuela: Ricardo Clark Goal Gives USA Late Win
At the centre of the disappointing display were Brek Shea and Teal Bunbury, both of whom had poor nights on the international stage. Shea in particular was creating promising situations only to immediately throw them away with a poor decision or terrible pass. Bunbury just mis-hit everything, which was more entertaining but less sad.
Anyhow, the US had the better of play and improved as the game went on. By the end of the match it was only the heroics of Leonardo Morales that was keeping them off the board. Eventually, however, a corner awarded in the seventh minute of injury time (there were originally supposed to be four, but Morales spent a lot of time on the ground injured) was nodded in at the first post by Clark.
It was virtually the last action of the match, and it was good enough to give the USA their first win against South American competition in 13 matches. Still, a win in a friendly’s secondary to playing well, and, uh. They didn’t.
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