US vs El Salvador: Postgame

So the US vs. El Salvador Gold Cup quarterfinal is over. Talk about a tale of two halves.

While the US did win 5-1, as the story usually goes, the stats told a different story. While the Yanks took a 2-1 lead into halftime, it's only because of the play of the Salvadoran goalkeeper and the Salvadoran defense. Clarence Goodson and Joe Corona scored the first goals of the match and it looked like things were going to be easy.

However, a terrible play by DeMarcus Beasley resulted into a penalty kick for El Salvador. They converted the penalty with ease and it was 2-1 for the rest of the half. It looked like the US had gotten a little too comfortable after the two goals. Obviously that's a dangerous way of playing against a determined team. This might be a "B" team, but they're still vulnerable.

So when the second half started, the Salvadorans tried to press. It looked like they were playing better out of the gate and got several big chances that, had it not been for goalkeeper Nick Rimando and a bit of luck, they might have tied the game.

In one of those moments where all you can say is "HOLY CRAP", Eddie Johnson came on in the 60th minute as a substitute on a corner kick immediately made his presence known, scoring just seconds into his appearance to put the US up 3-1. Landon Donovan and Mix Diskerud finished the job.

Again, this was a tale of two halves... or half a half.

The US keeps showing that a little bit of rough water doesn't faze them. They made the right adjustments and pushed the right buttons. It took a little bit of patience, but those five goals came with the right amount of pressure and skill.

The US now looks to the semis in Dallas against either Costa Rica or Honduras. With the way they're playing, the US should make it to the Gold Cup finals. This should be fun.