Despite giving up two early tries the USA managed to pull out a dramatic 30-29 over Portugal Saturday night in Denver.
This was the opening weekend of the Nations Cup with several very close games. This match ended up being the last one of the day, in part because lightning forced the kickoff to be delayed 45 minutes.
However, inspired by by this being the 250th 4th of July the USA team managed to cast aside early setbacks to get back in the game.
Right at the beginning of the match Portugal saw space behind and pushed a grubber through for wing Manuel Pinto. And Pinto caught the USA players by surprise with his pace and he race through to touch the ball down. Did he actually knock it on?
Try given by referee Gianluca Gnecchi, and it was 5-0.
After an Eagles attack was stymied by a blocked kick, Portugal was again on the front foot, getting a penalty and off a quick tap by scrumhalf Samuel Marques, they grubbered it through again. The ball, as it does, took a weird bounce and there was Pinto to race onto it once more and score a spectacular try.
Marques converted and it was 12-0 with less than 10 minutes gone.
But the USA responded. Rufus McLean nabbed the ensuing restart nicely in the air. The wing had Dom Besag there ready to take the pass, but, no worries. The USA surged on from there. They got a scrum, which buckled the Portuguese in impressive fashion, and off another scrum Paddy Ryan picked and charged, allowing the ball to be recycled quickly and sent out to flanker Cory Daniel on the edge.
Try USA, and flyhalf Christopher Hilsenbeck slotted the conversion from the touchline. That kick, like every kick he took, would be crucial.
Portugal would have not been happy with the penalties, and their discipline was a major problem all game.
However, first to get a car was USA center Tavite Lopeti, who was sin-binned for head contact in a tackle. Portugal immediately tried to make the Eagles pay, but a kick-pass to the wing was stopped brilliantly by debutant wing Perry Mayo, who made the tackle and held the ball up in-goal.
Even so, the USA was still under pressure, and when they squandered a lineout the Lobos were able to punish a penalty and sent Pinto through on a nice movement. Portugal 19 USA 7.
It was around this time that the Eagles started to get the better of the game. A penalty for hitting McLean in the air led to a lineout and maul. Repeated penalties in the red zone finally ended the unflappable Gnecchi's patience and he showed Portugal a yellow.
The Eagles worked again off the maul, went wide, and while a kick-pass from Besag was a bit high, making Mayo wait for it, the wing cut back inside, allowing Ryan to go over almost untouched.
Hilsenbeck was good on the kick and it was 19-14.
More card trouble for the USA. Mayo chased a box kick that was caught in the air by Portugal flyhalf Manuel Vareiro. However, Vareiro flung his legs out in front of him, booting Mayo in the face. it was an enormously dangerous thing to do, and pretty unnecessary—Vareiro had won the ball cleanly. Yellow card for the flyhaf, and that was upgraded later to a red (20 minutes shorthanded and then someone else has to come in).
Now up by two players the USA had to make something happen. They had chances to slice open the Lobos defense but little timing errors got in their way. Finally the Eagles got a lineout and a almost perfect maul ... only hooker Kapeli Pifeleti got confused and held onto the ball past the dead ball line. Heads in hands for the USA players as they realized they had driven the maul through the shallow in-goals at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
That was a missed opportunity, especially with halftime approaching. But the Eagles managed to get back at it because Portugal took the goalline dropout quickly, forced a pass, and lost the ball forward.
So, with time winding down in the first half, the USA attacked off a scrum. A powerful charge from Pifeleti, in which he shouldered away a tackle like he wasn't there, got the hooker close and right behind him was Besag. Pifeleti popped a perfect offload and Besag was over.
Hugs for the hooker, whose maul mistake had been erased, and with Hilsenbeck's kick, amazingly, the USA led 21-19 at halftime.
