United States beats Honduras 3-2 – Recap and Video Highlights – Saturday, October 10, 2009
The United States traveled to face Honduras on Saturday in CONCACAF 2010 World Cup Qualifying as both teams looked to move closer towards qualification for the 2010 World Cup. If the USA won or matched Costa Rica’s result they would guarantee a top 3 spot while Honduras needed at least a draw to remain in good position to qualify. The USA were without midfielder Clint Dempsey who had a shoulder injury. Here’s a recap of the match along with video highlights.
United States beats Honduras 3-2 and clinches spot in 2010 World Cup Finals- Video Highlights
1st Half
Honduras started out the first half as the better club but the United States slowly worked their way into the match. Charlie Davies had a great opportunity to give the Americans the lead around the 30 minute mark as his header was saved but he had the rebound to a wide open net. Unfortunately for his team he missed the shot wide. Both teams threatened in the first half and Honduras had the USA defense on their heels several times.
American defender Oguchi Onyewu, who hasn’t been playing often for AC Milan, was solid in the first half. Overall, the defense wasn’t spectacular but didn’t make any major mistakes. Possession was definitely in Honduras’ favor the first 45 minutes as the home crowd gave them the advantage. Neither team would convert on chances as it was 0-0 at halftime. There could have easily been 2 or 3 goals in the first half with the chances each team had.
2nd Half
The second half started out great for Honduras who would score immediately. A free kick was concede just outside the 18 yard box by the United States. Julio Leon (47th minute) took the free kick and hit a great shot to the upper corner that beat goalkeeper Tim Howard. The American goalkeeper had no chance and it was simply a great shot from the Honduran to make it 1-0. The USA would fight back and Michael Bradley hit a shot that just missed high around the 51st minute.
The effort and hard work from the Americans paid off in 56th minute as Conor Casey scored to tie it at 1-1. A long ball was sent in by Onyewu, headed near goal by Davies, and Casey went in the air and beat the goalkeeper to the ball to head it past him. The momentum was clear with the United States and Casey would score again a few minutes later. In the 66th minute, Donovan sent a through ball for Casey who beat the goalkeeper to make it 2-1.
It seemed like the USA woke up after conceding the first goal and Landon Donovan would extend the lead. He scored in the 71st minute off a free kick to the upper right corner. It was setup by a foul on Conor Casey. The shot was beautifully curled over the wall and past the diving goalkeeper. As the match appeared to be clearly with the USA, Honduras would get themselves back in it.
Honduras almost got within one around the 76th minute as they appeared to score but ruled just offsides. Only a few minutes later, Honduras would score with goal from Rambo DeLeon as the USA defense failed to clear. The home side started to get good pressure and the USA defense was a little shaky. A corner kick was sent in the box by Honduras and a penalty awarded due to a handball around the 85th minute. Carlos Pavon stepped up to take the kick in the 87th minute but missed it high.
It was a frantic second half and very wide open play as the defense struggled to keep up with the offenses. The final few minutes were back and forth with the outcome able to go either way. It was a tough match and the Americans made a late switch of Steve Cherundolo in for Stuart Holden to provide some defensive cover. The United States would hold on for the road victory and now are automatically qualified for next summer’s World Cup Finals.
USA lineup:
———–Davies————–Casey—————-
Donovan————————————Holden
——————Bradley——Clark—————–
Bornstein—Bocanegra—–Onyewu—-Spector
—————————Howard————————
USA bench: Guzan, Cherundolo, Conrad, Torres, Cooper, Altidore, Feilhaber.
Honduras lineup:
————-Costly———–Pavon————–
–DeLeon———————————-Alvarez
——————Thomas—–Palacios———
Izaguirre——Figueroa—-Chavez—-Sabillon
—————————Valladares—————-
Honduras’ Bench: Canales, Norales, Suazo, Nunez, Garcia, Valladares, Martinez
| SCORING SUMMARY | |
| Honduras | United States |
| Julio Leon (47) | Conor Casey (58) |
| Julio Leon (78) | Conor Casey (65) |
| Carlos Pavon (pen miss 87) | Landon Donovan (69) |
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