South of the Border

Hola from Mexico my friends.  We have been here for a few days now and things are going well.  The first few days we had training, two a days.  Last night we played our first game against a club team from Culiacan.  They are a second division team,  I think.  They weren't too bad.  We started very well and could have been up 1-0 three minutes in but there gk made a very good save off a volley from Chris Rolfe.  We controlled the first 35 minutes and got a goal from Chad Barrett.  We got alittle tired the last ten minutes of the half. It is rather warm down here and they are in the middle of their season, so they are fit.  We gave up a late goal just before half time.  It was  good header back across me, off the post and in.  Other than that I only had to make a save or two and a few crosses that I collected cleanly.  We started well again in the second half and had a few more good chances before we(sta rting 11) were all subbed. It was a good run for the starters and for me.  It was nice to play abit longer than I did in Florida.  It really made me work on my focus during the game.  The only bad thing on the night was that one of our subs got a red card three minutes after coming on, so we played the last 20 minutes a man down. 

The atmosphere was amazing, 25,000 fans chanting and singing all game.  They all love Blanco down here.  So every time he touched the ball they went nuts.  It was a good result for us and nice to see the young boys hold on for us during that later minutes of the game.  We have the morning off today and then back to training this afternoon.  Our next game is on Wednesday against Necaxa.  This will be a big test for us because they are a very good team.  I will get the whole ninety minutes of that one.  I am very excited for that one!  So all in all so far this trip has been very g ood.  My handling is sharp and my focus during the games has gotten better.  The next game will be a big test for my concentration over an entire game.  I will keep you guys updated.

All the best.
buschy