Co-captain Lindsey Horan powered a terrific
header into the net to level the affair in the second half and
save the four-times champions from outright embarrassment after
not putting up much of a fight early on in the match.
It was the first World Cup draw that the United States have seen
since Sweden held them 0-0 at the tournament in 2015.
"(In) the first half, we allowed them to take control of the
tempo and slow down the tempo a lot more than we wanted,"
Andonovski told reporters, days after the United States beat
Vietnam 3-0 in their opener.
The early performances were below the level the Americans can
achieve due in part to the relative lack of experience the
starters have with one another, he added.
"This team has not had time together. I mean, the first time we
see this team together is in game one and now we saw them again
in game two. So in game three, we expect it to grow from there,"
he told reporters.
"As hopefully we move forward, we're going to see better and
better."
While much has been made of the relative inexperience of the
U.S. team, with 14 World Cup newcomers among the 23-player
squad, Andonovski spent precious pre-tournament time retooling
his starting line-up amid a glut of injuries.
Julie Ertz moved into centre back after veteran Becky Sauerbrunn
was ruled out and new addition Savannah DeMelo has taken on more
of a workload with midfield stalwart Rose Lavelle's minutes
limited.
"(The young players) grew throughout the game individually, but
also as a team, we grew throughout the game as well. I've said
this before, this team is not just young, this team is also a
fresh team," said Andonovski.
"We're just going to get better from game to game and we're
going to be a lot more efficient as well."
The United States close out their Group E against Portugal on
Tuesday.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Wellington; Editing by Stephen
Coates)
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