Dempsey Scores in USA Win

Altidore Also Finds Net in Crucial World Cup Qualifying Victory

Sept. 6, 2009

SANDY, Utah -- The U.S. men’s national team got goals from Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore in the closing minutes of the first half to come from behind and defeat El Salvador 2-1 Saturday evening at Rio Tinto Stadium.

With the victory, the U.S. moved into second place in the six-team final round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying with just three matches remaining.

The U.S. fell behind in the 32nd minute when Christian Castillo headed home after a poor U.S. clearance, but after a handful of near-misses a Landon Donovan free kick found Dempsey for the equalizer in the 41st minute. Five minutes later, with seconds left before the halftime whistle, Altidore put the U.S. in the lead for good when he nodded home another service from Donovan, this time in the run of play.

Donovan earned ussoccer.com Man of the Match honors on a night when he set the record for most World Cup qualifying appearances for a U.S. player, playing in his 32nd qualifier.

“I think what stood out after the goal was strong response from everybody on the field,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “That says a lot about what these guys are all about. They understand how difficult these games are and how competitive they are. The second half we certainly had some opportunities to get the third goal, which is always important. When you don’t, you sometimes need a big save and Timmy Howard made a big save at the end.”

Desperate to steal a point, El Salvador started throwing numbers forward for the final minutes of the match. They almost succeeded in the 87th minute, after Rodolfo Zelaya sent in a cross from the left side of the pitch. The ball fell to the chest of Christian Castillo, who brought the ball down and tapped it to an open William Reyes.

The second-half substitute took the pass with his back to the goal from the center of the box, and while turning put the point-blank shot on frame, where Howard made the big save needed to preserve the win, diving down to his right to palm the shot.

The U.S. is tied with Honduras on 13 points, but Honduras holds the top spot with a better goal differential, which they increased with a 4-1 victory against Trinidad & Tobago. Mexico jumped to third place after a surprising 3-0 victory against Costa Rica at Estadio Saprissa. Costa Rica slipped to fourth place with the defeat.

The final round of qualifying resumes Wednesday, when the U.S. visits Trinidad & Tobago at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. ESPN Classic and Galavision will televise the game live at 7 p.m. ET with a pre-game show starting coverage at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN Classic. Fans can follow online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and via twitter at www.twitter.com/ussoccer.

The win continued the United States’ dominance in home World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador, as they now hold a 12-0-2 record dating back to 1977.