Gold Cup

USA Breeze Past Grenada In Gold Cup

The young players of the squad were eager to make an impact, and against the small island nation, the Americans ran rampant.

Jul 5, 2009 5:04:06 AM

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Freddy Adu - USA-Grenada (Mexsport)

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USA 4-0 Grenada
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Two-time defending CONCACAF Gold Cup champions USA didn’t waste any time jumping ahead of Grenada. Freddy Adu tallied an eighth-minute goal to give the Americans a 1-0 lead, but they were just getting started and would add three more before the final whistle.

Robbie Rogers collected two assists and a goal to help the USA to a 4-0 win. The United States and Honduras now sit atop the Group B standings, each with wins. Honduras topped Haiti in the first match of the day.

The USA improved to 22-0-1 all-time in Gold Cup group play.

In the eighth minute, Rogers picked up a missed Granada clearance and crossed the ball toward goal. An unmarked Adu sneaked up behind defenders and sent the ball to the right of goalkeeper Desmond Noel and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

Grenada had a chance in the 16th minute when Kithson Bain sent a long shot toward goal, but the ball sailed out wide. The USA’s Kyle Beckerman responded with a shot of his own a minute later - Noel barely got to it in time.

Bain almost struck again in the 23rd minute, heading the ball toward goal. US goalkeeper Troy Perkins smothered the attempt, keeping his net clean.

The host side didn’t stop with their early strike. In the 32nd minute, Rogers again sent the ball into the box. Stuart Holden headed a bouncing shot over the line and into the net for a 2-0 lead to become the 45th player in US soccer history to tally a goal in his first international appearance.

Charlie Davies then forced Noel to make a save in the 34th minute. Two minutes later, it was Adu who almost tallied. Noel made the save and came up huge again seconds later when an Adu corner kick was misplayed by his defence.

In the 41st minute, Juan Carlos Garcia took down Davies, receiving a yellow card. Adu took the free kick about five yards outside the box on the right side. The attempt nearly looped in. Noel juggled it, before dropping the ball out of bounds and falling along with it.

In first-half stoppage time, Davies almost struck again, after Holden found him front and centre in the box. The ball bounced off Davies' foot and directly at goal. Noel grabbed it, again making the save.

The Americans took a few minutes to get started in the second half. But once they got going, Grenada didn’t have an answer for them.

In the 59th minute, Davies shot toward an empty net. Grenada defender Anthony Modeste caught up with the ball and blasted it out of harm's way. On the corner kick, Modeste again cleared the ball.

A minute later, the Americans jumped out to a 3-0 lead. From the halfway point on the field, Logan Pause forwarded the ball to Rogers, who made a long run and drilled into the net in the 60th minute.

Seattle Sounders midfielder Brad Evans replaced Cherundolo in the 63rd. Evans immediately got a yellow card for entering the field without permission. The Sounders fans cheered when he entered and booed the referee when he carded him.

In the 68th minute, the USA struck again. Chad Marshall sent a long ball to Heath Pearce, who was running toward goal. He redirected the ball to Davies in the box. Davies controlled it with his left foot, then blasted a right-footed shot into the net for a 4-0 lead.

The US nearly added even more goals to their tally. In the 78th minute, Adu soared a long blast over the bar. Three minutes later Beckerman forwarded the ball to Pause, who sent the ball wide.

With the win, the USA maintain a perfect Gold Cup record of never losing their opening match in the tournament.

Kathryn Knapp, Goal.com

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