US hit back to deny Slovenia
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The United States dashed Slovenia's hope to become the first to sail into the knockout stage of 2010 World Cup by rallying from two goals down to tie their Group C match 2-2 on Friday.
Speed became the key word of the match between the world's sports heavyweight and the European nation with the smallest territory among the 32 finalists qualified for the World Cup finals.
The Slovenian squad broke the deadlock in the 13th minute. Valter Birsa curled a left-foot shot into the corner of net 30 meters from the goal.
The long-distance goal proved the quality of Slovenia who had kept the Czech Republic and Poland out of the finals with their consistent performance.
To the disappointment of U.S. fans, goalkeeper Tom Howard did not even move for the powerful shot. The U.S. team organized their counterattacks to strive for an equalizer later.
Under the waves of the rush to goal, Slovenian forward Zlatan Ljubijankic exchanged passes with his teammates and made a breakthrough into the loose defense of the Stars and Stripes in the 42th minute.
After the interval, U.S. core forward Landon Donovan organized a sole charge from the right wing in the 48th minute. With a cool mind, the striker broke into the penalty area and smashed the ball into the upper corner of the net.
In recent years, the name Donovan has been the talisman of the U.S. national team. The veteran has often saved his very best performances for a USA shirt, boasting excellent pace and vision.
They grasped another chance in the 82nd minute again. Michael Bradley, son of coach Bob Bradley, timed his run and slid the ball high into the net when his teammate pumped the ball into the area of Slovenia from halfway on the right. The equalizer made some U.S. fans burst into tears.
Maurice Edu almost made the U.S. team to overtake the lead in the 86th minute by directing the free-kick from the right into the goal, but Mali referee Koman Coulibaly has already whistled for a foul.
Slovenia will face England for their last group match on June 23 in Nelson Mandela Bay while the United States will meet Algeria in Tshwane on the same day.
