|
 Brek Shea rifled home a free kick at the end of the first half to
give Juergen Klinsmann's team a deserved lead but they were pegged
back by with 10 minutes left after poor defending.
The visitors, who have won only two out of nine games since the
World Cup as they undergo a rebuilding process, played the last
quarter of the match with 10 men after having Jozy Altidore sent
off.
Altidore, one of the most experienced players on the U.S. team,
clipped an opponent from behind and was sent off as he argued about
the decision with referee Luca Banti.
The U.S. conceded two goals in the last 10 minutes in last week's
3-2 defeat to Denmark and also gave away late goals in friendlies
against Honduras (1-1), Ecuador (1-1), Colombia (1-2) and Ireland
(1-4).
Nevertheless, Klinsmann was encouraged. "We are getting close to the
90 minutes we were playing at the World Cup," he told reporters.
"Overall, I saw a lot of good stuff from the entire group; it was
enjoyable to see that everyone was throwing themselves in there to
get a result against a good team...
"I told the players at halftime, you can commit fouls but never joke
with an Italian referee," he added.
Shea broke through when he fired his effort over the wall and into
the net, helped by poor positioning from Switzerland keeper Roman
Buerki, with the last kick of the first half.
[to top of second column] |
Minutes earlier, Admir Mehmedi missed an open goal for the Swiss,
failing to make contact with the ball when Xherdan Shaqiri's low
cross found him free in front of goal.
Switzerland turned the screw in the second half and had already
threatened several times before Stocker scored from close range
after the U.S. failed to deal with a cross whipped in from the left.
(Editing by Toby Davis)
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