Danes denied by defiant US
Monday, January 19, 2004
Article summary
United States 1-1 Denmark Morten Olsen's team of domestic-based players were held in California.
Article body
United States 1-1 Denmark
Two penalties
The Danes have taken a squad of domestic-based players to the US as part of preparations for the UEFA EURO 2004™ finals this summer. Morten Olsen's men took a first-half lead in Carson through Thomas Røll Larsen's penalty before Landon Donovan also scored from the spot in the second half.
Pope penalised
After a fairly low-key opening, the Danes took the lead in the 27th minute when US captain Eddie Pope was adjudged to have fouled his Danish counterpart Morten Wieghorst following a corner. Røll-Larsen made no mistake with his penalty, giving home goalkeeper Jonny Walker no chance.
Chances missed
The US picked up after the interval and DaMarcus Beasley nearly restored parity in the 52nd minute after a neat one-two with Donovan but his resulting shot was hit straight at Peter Skov-Jensen. Goalkeeper Skov-Jensen came to the visitors' rescue again six minutes later to deny Bobby Convey's effort from 15 metres.
Late pressure
However, the home pressure told in the 76th minute when Danish defender Per Nielsen was penalised for handling in the area. Much to the delight of the Californian crowd, Donovan stepped up to convert the penalty. Despite losing Stokholm to a second yellow card with six minutes left, the Danes hung on until the final whistle.
