U.S. Marches On In Gold Cup With 2-0 Win Over Honduras

Quaranta scored his first international goal in the 75th minute in front of his home fans as the United States defeated Honduras 2-0 at R.F.K. Stadium to all but seal top spot in Group B.

 Brian Ching added the second four minutes later as the United States benefited from the second half insertion of Benny Feilhaber and Charlie Davies to spark itself to the victory it needed to ensure an easier path to the semifinals.

 First Half

Neither side really matched the intensity of the crowd in the opening stages as most of the play came and went through midfield without any cutting thrust.

Honduras probably started the better of the two sides, but the Americans were the first to truly carve open a chance on 15 minutes. Tidy midfield play allowed Robbie Rogers to steam into the left side of the penalty area and pull a cross back towards the top of the penalty area. Santino Quaranta latched onto it, but could only do so with a meager diving header that he directed wide.

As the United States preferred the more intricate moves, Honduras looked to play the ball over the top to exploit their pace advantage. Walter Martinez nearly nipped in after 19 minutes, but Troy Perkins responded quickly off his line to snuff out the danger.

Plucky play from Kyle Beckerman kept a faltering attack alive soon afterwards. Beckerman did one better by regaining his balance and slipping a pass through for Brian Ching, but Ching couldn't get a handle on the deft pass and let the chance go begging from eight yards.

If Ching could have converted, Martinez definitely should have on 30 minutes. Martinez somehow remained onside and latched onto a long ball behind the U.S. defense. Instead of opting for the exposed far post, Martinez tried for the near post and could only find side netting.

 By now, the match had perked up considerably from a ragged start and the Americans carved out their own gilt-edged chance minutes later. Heath Pearce overlapped the active Robbie Rogers on the left and swung a dangerous ball into the penalty area. Freddy Adu had all the space and time in the world to pick a spot with his header, but could only direct his header straight into Donis Escober's grateful arms.

 Second Half

 After a frantic end to the first half, the opening stages of the second stanza settled considerably as a Briang Ching side-volley over the bar from a half chance marked the only action in anger.

 Honduras continued to threaten on the break. Carlos Costly picked the ball off Martinez's foot as the two Hondurans broke out. Costly surged into the penalty area only for Chad Marshall to slide in with a fine tackle to snuff out the danger.

 U.S. head coach Bob Bradley sent Benny Feilhaber and Charlie Davies on with 25 minutes to play in an attempt to spark some life into the offense.

 Davies nearly did so on 71 minutes, albeit through a route that evoked memories of Carlos Hermosillo in Foxboro some years ago rather than a direct path towards goal. Escober dallied too long on the ball and Davies blocked his attempted clearance. Escober hurriedly rushed back to ensure the scuffed attempt didn't cross the line.

 Quaranta wrote all of the headlines with his fine first-time strike with a quarter of an hour to play. Beautiful buildup play with touches from Rogers, Feilhaber, Ching and Davies worked the ball from left to right with Davies deftly laying off into space for Quaranta to slide home.

 Ching made the points safe four minutes later when Feilhaber played a free kick quickly out to Steve Cherundolo on the right side. Cherundolo's cross found the poorly marked Ching in the middle and the target forward directed his header home.