Dempsey lifts US to football victory in Cuba

AFP - 7 September 2008 08:05

US´s Clinton Dempsey (C) scores against Cuba during their FIFA World Cup South Africa-2010 qualifier football match on September 6 at the Pedro Marrero stadium in Havana. US defeated Cuba 1-0.

HAVANA (AFP) - Clint Dempsey scored off a pass from Brian Ching in the 40th minute to give the United States a 1-0 victory over Cuba on Saturday in a 2010 South African World Cup qualifying match.

The victory boosted the Americans, who had not played in the political rival nation since 1947, to 2-0 and atop Group One in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) second round.

The Cubans, who dropped their opener 3-1 to Trinidad and Tobago, will struggle to reach the final group to decide 2010 Cup teams while the Americans, who beat Guatemala 1-0 in their road opener, have all-but sealed a spot.

"The pitch wasn't the best, and we had some problems with the heat," said US goalkeeper Tim Howard. "This is the third straight qualifying win on the road for us and that will do wonders to building up our confidence."

A power outage late in the game did not fluster the Americans, who played host tgo Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday.

"Cuba did a good job of responding after their first game. It meant a lot to them and as a result it was a tight game," said US coach Bob Bradley. "We dealt well with some difficult conditions and came away with a good result. We've played in two tough games on the road now and have six points.

Trinidad and Tobago moved to second in the group - the top two from each of three groups advances to next year's final round - with a 1-1 draw at Guatemala with Keon Daniel's goal in the 84th minute matched by Carlos Santizo in the 90th.

Mexico seized the Group Two lead with a 3-0 home victory over Jamaica in a match moved from the Caribbean because of hurricane threats. Andres Guardado scored in the third minute with Fernando Arce following at 33 minutes and Jonny Magallan ending the scoring in the 63rd minute.

Honduras jumped to second in tghe group with a 2-1 victory at Canada, Ramon Nunez scoring in the 47th and 56th minutes to offset Adrian Serioux's goal in the fourth minute at Montreal.

Costa Rica routed Suriname 7-0 to stretch its lead in Group Three while El Salvador blasted Haiti 5-0 in World Cup qualifiers Saturday.