Thursday, July 23, 2009

Heading to the Final

For the second time this summer the U.S. Men's National Team will be playing in a cup final. Goals from Clarence Goodson (his first for the national team) and Kenny Cooper (his second in as many games) paced the U.S. to a 2-0 victory against Honduras. Goodson's goal came in first half stoppage time, after he powered in a close range header from a Stuart Holden corner kick.

The blow was a tough one for Honduras, but Los Catrachos fought back and made things difficult in the second half. Troy Perkins needed to be at his best to deny Carlo Costly a late chance, before Kenny Cooper's close range finish put the U.S. on course for the final. Brian Ching and Stuart Holden played a great combination, with Ching backheeling the ball to his club-mate inside the area. Holden whipped a low cross to the back post where Cooper tapped in from about four yards.

We'll be back with all the post-match reaction and quotes. Until then, be sure to celebrate the U.S. Men's National team getting to their third consecutive Gold Cup final!

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Well played game. Could easily have been a blowout.

davidm said...

Nicely done. The last few minutes of the first half and most of the second half were very good. Too bad we didn't put the game away earlier, but all in all a very decent performance from this group of players. They seem to be getting better with every game.

Anonymous said...

WOOT! Good game, guys. Started off a little rocky, but toward the end of the first it got better and the second half was great.

Bring on the final!! :)

Unknown said...

It's come to this...again. USA VS MEX in the final...yawn.

Jeff said...

Congratulations! Now we are 90 minutes away from the championship! It's going to be exciting!

Julio said...

Good job guys. Let's improve our chances to score!!

Shmails said...

Well done boys! This team has shown a great spirit and commitment to work for each other as they have moved through this tournament.

As for Sunday, go get'em boys! Holden is going to need an umbrella when he goes to the corner kicks on Sunday

trish said...

Aren't Goodson and Cooper roomies on this trip? Way to go to the FC Dallas boys. (well...you have to go back a while for Goodson there.)

Holden and Ching really made that seond goal happen. Beautiful! And incidentally, another pair of roommates/teammates. :-)

Unknown said...

we'll see you boys at the Meadowlands!

Anonymous said...

Great game you guys. I am really impressed but overall proud of the excellent job this group of players have don in this tournament. Now we are 90 minutes away from the championship. Bring it Mexico, we got this!!!!

squarewheel said...

First, thanks to the bloggers of the team for posting (and moderating). I find all the blogs and comments interesting, and the knowledge gained makes watching the games more enjoyable.

The stars of the MNT captured our attention in S Africa, but the young team at the Gold Cup have now done the same -- congrats to all. Be very careful when dribbling near the feet of the Mexican coach.

The SCB said...

Well done you yanks !

Now go out there and finish this tournament strong by beating Mexico 2-0 !!

davidm said...

Has anyone noticed how FSC kept misspelling Goodson's name as Goodsen? Even when interviewing him after the game the caption said "Goodsen".

Is the final going to be played on that artificial junk they have at the Giants Stadium? And why can't security take care of the idiot mexican fans (I don't mean all of them are idiots, just the ones throwing things)? It keeps happening game after game.

  said...

You can always tell a tough match when the goals are scored at the very last second. But we were the better team and controlled the ball fairly well. I don't remember us missing too many chances so we finished well.
Great job by Bob Bradley as usual.

Good luck against Mexico Sunday.

Viva los rojo, blanco, y azul!

Evan said...

Great game.I was real excited to see Clarence get a goal. These guys are maybe young for the most part but they sure are proving that the US is growing in soccer. Our time is gonna come soon. Sunday will be a huge step too. Our young guys are gonna get the job done!!!