United States beats Australia 3 - 1 in Friendly Match

 The U. S. beat Australia 3 - 1 in the last Friendly match before the World Cup begins.The match took place in Johannesburg, South Africa. It also had two Fulham players who would be on opposite sides today. Clint Dempsey was playing for the U.S. and Mark Schwarzer was the goalkeeper for Australia.

The U.S. started strong and scored in the fourth minute of the match. Edson Buddle blasted a shot past Mark Schwarzer to give the U.S. the early lead 1 - 0. Australia would fight back and tie the match in the 19th minute. Off of a corner kick, the ball was kicked in the box. Tim Cahill who plays for Everton got to it and shot it past Tim Howard. The game was then tied 1 - 1. The U.S. would strike again in the first half. In the 31st minute, Steve Cherundolo sent in a great cross to Edson Buddle and he shot it past Schwarzer. The half ended with the U.S. up 2 - 1.

The second half saw Australia very aggressive with several scoring chances. Clint Dempsey actually had a goal disallowed. He took a rebound off of a shot on net and headed it past Mark Schwarzer . Unfortunately, the referee had his flag up and called offsides on the U.S.

The U.S. ended the scoring in stoppage time. Landon Donovan struck a nice pass inside the box to Hurcules Gomez. He struck it past Mark Schwarzer. The game ended with the U.S. winning 3 - 1.

The U.S. performance was inconsistent. At times they looked very good and controlled the match. In the second half though Australia really controlled the game. For the U.S. to have a shot against England they are going to need to be much more consistent. There was though encouraging play from Robbie Findley and Edson Buddle. Edson scored two goals and did have chances for the hat trick.

It is now on to the opening match for the U.S. against England next Saturday. It should be fun.