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Closer Look McBride shows heart, gives U.S. offensive punch
Posted: Saturday February 19, 2000 09:23 PM
By Jeff Green, CNNSI.com MIAMI (CNNSI.com) -- Just over a week ago, United States forward Brian McBride spent the night in the hospital with an irregular heartbeat. On Saturday afternoon, he showed that the U.S. national team actually does have the potential to produce goals from the front line. Two dull wins, one thrilling defeat to Colombia on penalty kicks and a disappointing early exit from the championship tournament for its own region. That's the bitter Gold Cup summary for the United States, which can take some small solace after showing offensive punch on Saturday that had been in short supply lately. McBride put the U.S. in the lead with a goal in the 20th minute after a combination between his fellow frontrunner, Eric Wynalda, and right winger Cobi Jones. "I thought it was a great goal by Brian," said U.S. coach Bruce Arena. "I thought Wynalda did a great job on the first goal to keep the ball alive." Holding the ball with his back to the goal about 20 yards out on the right side, Wynalda laid a short pass off to Jones. The Los Angeles Galaxy attacker looked up and sent a short cross to the top of the six-yard box. McBride, a Columbus Crew forward who gives the U.S. its best weapon in the air, went up in front of Colombian defender Gonzalo Martinez and slammed the ball to the left of goalkeeper Miguel Calero. It was his 10th goal in 38 appearances for the U.S. With the assist, Jones has now figured in goals in each of the five U.S. games in 2000. "Cobi looked up, and we actually had a few times where I would drift a little bit away from the near post guy and then break to the near post," said McBride. "He saw it and played a ball in that was very nice. I was able to get up for it, and felt pretty wide open." The U.S. allowed Colombia to even the score four minutes later, but McBride helped send his team ahead again six minutes into the second half -- temporarily. McBride received a long, high clearance from goalkeeper Brad Friedel with his back to goal outside the Colombian penalty area. With defensive midfielder Chris Armas storming through into the box, McBride shielded his eyes from the sun and headed on Friedel's pass, allowing Armas to score o a full right-footed volley to Calero's left from 10 yards out. "Brad and I played together a little bit at Columbus, and we had a pretty small field then, so he knows just where to play it," said McBride. "I don't like a ball played directly right at me and he played a great long ball. He had a lot of time to put it where he wanted to, and I just flicked it on. Chris had a nice one-time finish." "I was just basically hoping somebody was going to be running through," McBride admitted. Despite two excellent goals, Arena said the U.S. still has much room to improve on the offensive third. "I don't think we're as dangerous as we need to be. We still need to look at some other players," he said. "I was more disappointed with the two goals than we gave up than the lack of ability to be dangerous for 90 minutes." Wynalda, whose form has suffered due to injuries in recent years, impressed Arena. "I was very happy with Wynalda today," Arena said. "He turned the corner. He had a very good performance. I thought [McBride] and Eric had a good game together. Especially when they were fresh, they did a pretty good job the way they combined. The first and second goals were terrific. "I think with a little bit of time they're certainly going to improve." McBride agreed. "Eric and I are still trying to figure each other out," he said. "I think that in time things will get a lot better." Despite playing 81 minutes on Wednesday, McBride was not much of a factor in the 1-0 victory over Peru. As Arena pointed out, he hadn't played in several days because of health concerns. He sat on the bench in street clothes during a 3-0 win over lowly Haiti last Saturday. "I definitely felt that my legs were back," McBride said after the loss to Colombia. "My feet were quicker. "Unfortunately, the layoff also affected my fitness and I was knackered with 10 minutes left [against Colombia], which isn't like me. I like being as fit as possible." He was substituted for an extra defender, C.J. Brown, again in the 81st minute, and Colombia scored the tying goal seconds later. As for his health problems, McBride said, "Everything is fine. Just an irregular heartbeat."
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