The U.S. beat Guatemala 1 - 0

The U.S. beat Guatemala 1 - 0 without firing on all cylynders. They played a very efficient game.

Carson, Calif. – Clint Dempsey scored midway through thefirst half and a 10-man United States squad survived a late Guatemalan surge asthe U.S. won 1-0 in the Group B opener at Home Depot Center on Thursday.

Dempsey was named Miller Lite Man of the Match.

The United States picked up where they left off in the lastGold Cup. The Americans won the 2005 Gold Cup with a penalty-kick shootout winover Panama. Guatemala, meanwhile, will need results quickly if they are toavoid their 2005 fate when they failed to get past the group stage.

With the sun shining brightly at the start of the match, theUnited States took the initiative early on and pressured the Guatemalan goal.Dempsey took a knock some 25 yards from goal and set up a free kick, whichLandon Donovan sent into the penalty area. Goalkeeper Ricardo Trigueno bobbledthe ball and the U.S. won a corner kick. Donovan again took the set piece andswung a ball to the front of the net. Carlos Bocanegra slammed a header on goalbut right to Trigueno’s feet.

Donovan again nearly set up a goal off a corner kick in the17th minute but Michael Bradley’s header on goal was cleared off theline.

But Guatemala had settled in and was not allowing much spacefor the Americans to maneuver in. In fact, the U.S. appeared a bit rattled attimes, possibly from a combination of a stingy and gritty Guatemalan squad andthe blue-clad Guatemalan supporters, who dominated the stands.

In the 19th minute, Bocanegra nearly put a ballinto his own net when he botched a clearance attempt. The ball grazed the rightgoalpost as the U.S. captain apparently tried to clear it to the other side ofthe field.

But two minutes later, the U.S. started to settle in.DaMarcus Beasley floated a ball to the front of the Guatemalan net and Dempseyslid and hit a shot off the outside of the net.

The U.S. finally broke through in the 26thminute. Jonathan Bornstein started the play as he collected the ball near themiddle of the field after a U.S. corner kick. Bornstein knocked a ball to theleft flank and Beasley flicked a header toward the corner of the penalty area.Taylor Twellman raced onto the ball and beat Pablo Melgar inside the penaltyarea. Twellman centered to Dempsey who slammed the ball into the back of thenet.

It was Dempsey’s eighth goal in a U.S. uniform and second inas many games. Dempsey, who scored for the U.S. in last summer’s World Cup, alsoscored a goal in Saturday’s 4-1 friendly win over China.

Guatemala had no answer for the U.S. goal. Forced to goforward, Guatemala showed little creativity. In the 40th minute,Carlos Ruiz found himself unmarked inside the penalty area after a quick restartof a free kick. Ruiz had little angle and centered the ball to the front of thenet but the ball was cleared away by the American defense.

The U.S. had several chances in first-half stoppage time.Beasley found space inside the penalty area and ripped a 12-yard shot on goal.The ball deflected off a Guatemalan defender and rolled slowly to the front ofthe goal toward Dempsey but the Fulham man could not get to the ball in time.Eventually, Donovan found the ball on the right side of the area and slammed a16-yard shot on goal but Trigueno did well to knock the ball over the end line.

Oguchi Onyewu was booked in the 56th minute on adead ball after apparent contact with a Guatemalan player. Onyewu protested thecall and looked stunned after he saw yellow.

Ruiz had Guatemala’s best chance of the match on the hourmark. Ruiz ripped a free kick from 25 yards out that slipped past the wall.U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard dived and stopped the ball right at the goal line.

In the 61st minute, the U.S. made the firstsubstitution of the match as Eddie Johnson replaced Clint Dempsey in aforward-for-forward swap.

Guatemala made its first substitute when Mario Rodriguezreplaced Rigoberto Gomez. The move paid off as Rodriguez was involved in a playthat left the U.S. with 10 men. Rodriguez sprinted into the U.S. third of thefield on a Guatemalan counterattack. Onyewu was the last defender back andclipped Rodriguez, who went sprawling to the ground. Onyewu received his secondyellow card of the match and subsequently sent off.

Guatemala had plenty of possession for the final quarterhour but did not mount any serious pressure on the U.S. goal.

USA – GUATEMALA 1:0 (1:0)

Clint DEMPSEY (Taylor TWELLMAN) 26’

USA: 1-Tim Howard - 2- Frankie Hejduk, 3- Carlos Bocanegra, 13- Jonathan Bornstein, 22- Oguchi Onyewu, 5-Benny Feilhaber (81: 12-Jay Demerit), 6- Michael Bradley, 7- DaMarcus Beasley, 8-Clint Dempsey (61: 9-Ed Johnson), 10-Landon Donovan, 20-Taylor Twellman (71: 14- Steve Ralston). Booked: Hejduk 41’, Onyewu 56’, Bocanegra 76’, Sent offs: Onyewu 72’

TD: Bob BRADLEY

GUA: 1-Ricardo Trigueno - 3- Pablo Melgar, 5- Henry Medina, 6- Gustavo Cabrera, 7- Claudio Albizuris, 2- Leonel Noriega (88: 15-Luis Swisher), 8-Jose Contreras, 14-Rigoberto Gomez (71: 19-Mario Rodriguez), 18-Carlos Quinones, 20-Carlos Ruiz, 11-Marvin Avila (80: 12-Carlos Figueroa). Booked: Albizuris 67’, Noriega 85’

TD: Hernan Dario GOMEZ

Statistics/Estadísticas USA GUA

Goal Attempts/Tiros Totales 17 11

Saves/Atajadas 3 5

Fouls/Faltas 21 16

Corners/Tiros de Esquina 4 3

Offsides/Fuera de Lugar 1 4

R: Jose PINEDA (SLV)

A1: Alejandro AZOFEIFA (CRC)

A2: Roberto GIRON (HON)

FO: Roberto MORENO (PAN)

Miller Lite Player of the Match: Clint Dempsey (USA)

Terra/Concacaf

USA vs. Guatemala
(AP)