Kellyn Acosta reflects on his game-winning goal vs. Ghana, his desire to bag more, and his partnership with Dax McCarty. <\/p>\n
Kellyn Acosta says the United States' team chemistry was \"pretty high\" after a 2-1 friendly win over Ghana on Saturday, in spite of a number of new faces being called in for the Gold Cup. <\/p>\n
Acosta curled a free kick around the wall for his first international goal after debutant Dom Dwyer opened the scoring and the U.S. comfortably saw out the victory in East Hartford, Connecticut. <\/p>\n
The friendly was the new-look U.S. squad's only test before the Gold Cup begins next weekend, but Acosta said the team was already coming together. <\/p>\n
\"I thought we stuck as a team,\" Acosta told ESPN after the game. \"New faces, but our chemistry was pretty high. We got guys moving around for each other, working hard, battling. It was a great start to what's going to be a good tournament. <\/p>\n
\"I'm glad the guys battled and fought for 90-plus minutes and got the result that we wanted.\" <\/p>\n
U.S. coach Bruce Arena put Acosta in as a holding midfielder alongside Dax McCarty, and the FC Dallas man had no complaints about playing with a new partner. <\/p>\n
\"I thought it went well,\" Acosta said. \"Obviously it's definitely tough getting to know a new face, we kind of just jumped right in there, but overall I thought we had a good game. I thought there were times I went forward, he fell back and vice versa, so I thought for the first game plan, we did a pretty good job.\" <\/p>\n
Acosta has recently become the American's go-to taker from free kick situations and delivered his first goal in his ninth international appearance. <\/p>\n
\"It was definitely a proud moment, a happy moment,\" he said. \"I've been working hard for it and I was happy to put it away. Hopefully it's the first of many. I was glad just to get that first one under my belt so hopefully I can continue scoring. I mean, Gold Cup's approaching, big game next week and hopefully I can get a goal then as well. <\/p>\n
\"I saw the keeper kind of cheating a little bit. My first one, I tried to put it over the wall and he was kind of already over there, so that means second one, I just tried to put it low in the corner and hope for the best -- maybe a rebound or going straight in and fortunately enough it went straight in, so I'm happy with it.\" <\/p>\n
Dwyer was also thrilled to score his first goal and was optimistic that the team chemistry would only improve before next week's opener against Panama in Nashville. <\/p>\n
\"It was a fantastic feeling,\" he said of his goal. \"I was very happy to get out there and get the start. I just wanted to show myself well and make an impact. ... <\/p>\n
\"There's a lot of positives to take from the game. We're still getting to know each other as players. It's going take a bit of time, but I think we're jelling well. <\/p>\n
\"It's a real good group, they welcomed me in well and a few of the other new guys, so we're just excited to get going and hopefully we can win the tournament.\" <\/p>\n
Follow @ESPNFC on Twitter to keep up with the latest football updates. <\/p>\n
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Read more from the original source: Kellyn Acosta reflects on his game-winning goal vs. Ghana, his desire to bag more, and his partnership with Dax McCarty. Kellyn Acosta says the United States' team chemistry was \"pretty high\" after a 2-1 friendly win over Ghana on Saturday, in spite of a number of new faces being called in for the Gold Cup Continue reading
\nKellyn Acosta: Chemistry solid in US squad despite new players - ESPN FC<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"