US Comes Back vs. Honduras

Americans Rebound for 2-1 Victory

June 8, 2009

The Americans, who quickly fell behind 2-0 in Wednesday�s loss to Costa Rica, surrendered the first goal in this one just five minutes into the match before a penalty kick conversion from Landon Donovan and a game-winning header from team captain Carlos Bocanegra in the 68th minute gave the U.S. the win.

Honduras took the lead early on after Carlos Costly won the ball near the midfield line. He played the ball to his left for Wilson Palacios, who touched it inside and had a clear look at goal. He tucked a left-footed shot neatly past the outstretched hands of Tim Howard and inside the left post for the 1-0 advantage.

The attack that led to the penalty kick started on the back line with Oguchi Onyewu. The central defender played a long ball through looking for Altidore, but Honduran defender Mario Beata knocked the ball down inside the area with his hand preventing Donovan from getting an opportunity at goal. Donovan stepped up and rifled the ball high past Valladares to level the score just two minutes before halftime.

�The most important thing for us was the response of the team after giving up the first goal. It showed a great deal about what these guys are all about,� said U.S. Men�s National Team head coach Bob Bradley, who improved his home qualifying record to a perfect 6-0-0. �From that standpoint, that's an important step for us as we try to move forward. It was a tough game for sure. It's not easy when you start the game and give up a goal the first time the opponent comes down the field. The response was strong, and it was an important three points."

After a disappointing performance in Costa Rica just three days earlier, Bradley made four changes to the starting lineup. Jonathan Spector and Jonathan Bornstein were called upon to man right and left back, respectively, while Ricardo Clark was selected for a central midfield spot.

Up front, Jozy Altidore earned his third-straight start, and was joined by with Conor Casey, who was added to the roster after the Costa Rica match when Brian Ching was ruled unavailable due to a hamstring strain.

Bradley exchanged Benny Feilhaber for Pablo Mastroeni to start the second half, and Feilhaber quickly got involved as the U.S. continued to control the pace of the game. In the 61st minute, Feilhaber crossed the ball from the left side into the box to Dempsey who was streaking to the far post. The Fulham midfielder lunged at the ball, but didn�t get a proper touch and missed the frame.

The game-winning goal came in the 68th minute on one of Donovan�s three corner kicks of the night. Donovan sent a driven ball in from the left side that went past the far post to Dempsey. Dempsey out-jumped his defender and headed the ball down and back in front of goal, where the Bocanegra dove to head the bouncing ball into net from close range.

Minutes after scoring, Bocanegra went down with a hamstring strain, handing Jay DeMerit with the task of helping to hold onto the lead in just his second career World Cup qualifier.

Scoring Summary:
HON � Carlos Costly (Carlos Pavon) 5th minute
USA � Landon Donovan (penalty) 43rd
USA � Carlos Bocanegra (Clint Dempsey) 68th

Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 12-Jonathan Spector, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.) (14-Jay DeMerit, 71), 13-Jonathan Bornstein; 8-Clint Dempsey, 2 -Ricardo Clark, 4-Pablo Mastroeni (9-Benny Feilhaber, 46), 10-Landon Donovan; 11-Conor Casey (7-DaMarcus Beasley, 75), 17-Jozy Altidore

HON: 18-Noel Vallardes; 14-Mauricio Sabillon, 2-Osman Chavez, 6-Mario Beata, 3-Maynor Figueroa; 13-Carlos Costly, 7-Amado Guevara (capt.), 4-Hendry Thomas, 10-Ramon Nunez (15-Walter Martinez, 79); 9-Carlos Pavon (16-Georgie Welcome, 67), 8-Wilson Palacios (17-Danilo Turcios, 66)

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