Magical Moments

Some decent international action and the EPL schedule is out.


Can't Win For Drawing

Start with these facts:

• Scotland hardly ever beat England
• Scotland had arguably outplayed England in this match but had surrendered a goal in the 70th minute and were down 0-1
• Leigh Griffith had leveled things in the 87th minute with a great free kick that beat Joe Hart to his left
• A point was better than none but Scotland really needed three to keep its WC hopes alive

Okay, now watch this video as Leigh Griffith lines up to take another free kick in the 89th minute.  Stunning as he beats Joe Hart to his right this time.  Two superb free kicks in two minutes from the same guy to rally Scotland from an 0-1 deficit to a 2-1 lead.  Full disclosure requires that I tell you that Harry Kane had a brilliant strike of his own in the closing seconds to snatch the victory away from the Scots.  Still, that moment must have been awesome for those Scottish fans.  I like the England team a lot but Scotland needed the three way more than England needed one.

Rummaging around the other European qualifiers, it was a decent round for the United Kingdom (how many countries are in this country - four).  Aside from the Scotland-England draw, Northern Ireland got a win and Wales got a point in Serbia.  England still leads its group and Northern Ireland looks like a decent bet to get to the playoff round.  Sweden took the measure of France and are now tied with the Frogs at the top of their group.  And BFS fav Iceland snatched a critical win at home against Croatia on a 90th minute corner from Gylfi Sigurdsson that Magnusson put away for the winner.  The victory puts the Our Boys level on points with Croatia at the top of the Group I table with 13; but since Turkey and Ukraine are close behind with 11 points each, nothing is settled in this group.  For those wondering which two sides are the punching bags in that group, they would be Finland and Kosovo who have one point a piece. And yes, they got their lone points in a draw against each other.


Thrilla in Azteca

Michael Bradley (4), who scored, and his United States teammates
 after a draw against Mexico on Sunday in a World Cup qualifying
 match. CreditRebecca Blackwell/Associated Press

Michael Bradley's deft chip aside, the Mexico-USA match didn't have quite the singularly dramatic moments of Scotland-England contest, but the 1-1 draw will be remembered for some time.  That the draw felt like a victory for the UMSNT is evident from the picture at the right.  But we get ahead of ourselves.

First there was the workmanlike win over Trinidad & Tobago. Our guys took their time in getting unraveled but goals from Christian Pulisic at 52 and 62 minutes were enough to kill the drama there.  I would be remiss if I didn't cite the performance of Newcastle's own DeAndre Yedlin, who had a hand in both goals.  With the three points in hand, the trip to Mexico wasn't quite as scary as it could have been.

For the Mexico match, Bruce Arena made seven lineup changes and went with three central defenders and two wingers (five man back line on defense but the wingers became midfielders in possession).   You'd have to say it was bit of break when Bradley scored an improbable goal in the sixth minute.  I don't speak Spanish but I believe the announcers in this video are offering grudging respect for Bradley's effort.   The US gave it back when Bobby Wood basically fanned on a shot in the box and Ochoa's outlet pass sent Mexico off to the races; any kind of shot from Wood probably means there is no chance for a quick counter.  Though there would be no more scoring, it was still intense all the way to the final whistle.  As Michael B notes, the result might be more important to the USMNT psyche than the point they took home.  Certainly the Hex does not look as daunting as it did last November.

And that is partly due to some help from Honduras, who worked a draw on the road against Panama.  Though they got a point in Costa Rica, Los Canaleros may be ruing missed opportunities.  They played a man up against Costa Rica but only got a draw and then found themselves outplayed by Honduras, rescuing a draw with a dramatic 90th minute goal.  That allows the US to slip past Panama into the third and final automatic qualifying spot.  Still four to go but the schedule favors the US going forward.


EPL Fixtures Announced

The season schedule is up at the EPL website here.  Actually, the schedule at this point is more what you'd call guidelines because the TV guys haven't worked their magic yet.  Many games will be moved from Saturday to Friday, Sunday or Monday; even games that don't change dates could change starting times.  But you get the general picture.

Newcastle get to open at St. James' Park but face a tough side in Tottenham.  From there the schedule looks to be a bit inviting until it gets really nasty in December. Always seeing the glass half empty, the Magpies cannot afford to get off to a slow start given that schedule.

Nothing worth reporting on the transfer front - just more rumors and speculation.  This was supposed to be the summer of Rafa but not so much yet.  And another rumor is that Ashley is preparing to sell the team to Chinese investors.  Observers are suggesting it may be true this time because Ashley, unlike other times, has not issued a denial.  I saw one commenter express hope that it isn't true, saying the devil you know, etc.  You mean the devil who has presided over two relegations in less than 10 years?

BFS will be taking a few weeks off, though in this case it really means shifting to the track and field blog to focus on the US Champs and a three meet Tracktown Series pitting teams representing NYC, Portland, San Francisco and Philadelphia against each other (details here).

Don't forget Gold Cup and Confederations Cup and MLS action.  Plenty to watch.  Check your local listings as they say.