DETROIT -- Striker Jozy Altidore scored the first goal and set up the second to help the United States to a 2-0 Group C victory over Canada in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Tuesday night. In the first game of the doubleheader before 28,209 at Ford Field, Panama held off 10-man Guadeloupe to secure a 3-2 win.
Midfielder Clint Dempsey gave the Americans some breathing room with a second-half goal and goalkeeper Tim Howard, who was having a relatively quiet match, made two key saves in the waning minutes to preserve his shutout.
The U.S. needed a good start and a win after getting beaten 4-0 by World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly on Saturday.
"It was important for a lot of us to get on the field, period, and a lot of us to get on the field again after the other night," said midfielder Landon Donovan, who missed the game with an illness.
"Any time you have a result like the Spain result, you're eager to get back on the field because we're all proud and you don't like losing that way. We wanted to make sure early on in the game that they knew this was not a game they thought could win. We wanted to take the air out of their sails right away."
For Altidore, who has been struggling to find playing time in Europe, most recently with Bursapor in Turkey, his performance and goal was a much needed boost.
"For confidence, it was a good thing," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "The movement that led to the first goal and the cross to Dempsey for the second both were great plays."
At times during the first half, it seemed the U.S. laid seige to the Canada goal with a number of shots from inside the area. But the Canadians defended in numbers and always seemed to have a body to block or deflect an American shot.
As it turned out, the U.S.'s first goal went off a Canadian -- the hands of goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld -- in the 15th minute.
Taking a feed from Donovan, Altidore held off Canada captain and defender Kevin McKenna on the right side of the penalty area and spun to send a blistering right-footed shot that Hirschfeld could not handle for his 11th international goal.
"Once we went behind, we took way too long to settle down," Canada coach Stephen Hart said. "We weren't getting the ball forward. We were very predictable. We were moving the ball slowly.
"Too many players didn't want the responsibility of the ball. We know what we need to do."
Canada started the second half with more intensity, but it took a while for the visitors to create anything dangerous.
The Americans took only 17 minutes.
Only two minutes after Dempsey almost scored a spectacular goal off his back heel, the veteran midfielder found the back of the net. Altidore sent a right-wing cross to the back post, where Dempsey outraced Nik Ledgerwood and volleyed the bounding ball for a 2-0 advantage in the 62nd minute.
Second-half sub Ali Gerba almost gave Canada some much-needed life as he sent a hard shot just to the left of the U.S. goal in the 69th minute.
And when Canada did take aim at the American goal late in the match, Howard made two vital saves within a span of seconds in the 85th minute, including denying Josh Simpson and then Ali Gerba from point-blank range
"Howard was absolute magic," Hart said. "I almost clapped."
Canada will look to regroup against Guadeloupe in Tampa
Canada will need to make the most of its two remaining Group C matches at the CONCACAF Gold Cup if they are to make it to the knockout stages.
After the dust settled on day one of Group C action Canada find themselves sitting at the bottom of the table by virtue of goal difference.
The Canadians dropped a hard-fought match 2-0 to the USA in the second match of a double-header at Ford Field in Detroit.
Panama held off a late comeback from Guadeloupe to win the opening match of the evening 3-2.
After the match Stephen Hart stated that he was not surprised by the early pressure from the Americans, but that he expected more from his team in response to giving away the opening goal.
“They came out early and tried to press us for the early goal, and they got it,” he said.
“Once we went behind we took too long to settle down, but congratulations to the USA.”
Canada will need to rebound with a strong performance against Guadeloupe on Saturday in Tampa Bay, FL if they are to head into the final match of Group C competition with their fate in their own hands.
All of the teams in the group will travel to Tampa from Detroit tomorrow.
MATCH REPORT
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Location: Detroit, MI
Stadium: Ford Field
Attendance: 28209
Kickoff: 20.00 local (20.00 ET / 17.00 PT)
Broadcast: Rogers Sportsnet One, Sportsnet.ca
Match Tracker: USA 2 – Canada 0
Canada: CAN MNT
Opponent: USA (USA)
Canada put forth a valiant effort against USA in the Group C opener at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Goals from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey paced the American attack for a 2:0 victory over Canada in Detroit in front of 28,209 fans at Ford Field.
USA used its two-pronged attack of Altidore and Juan Agudelo with Dempsey sneaking in from time to time. Canada created chances late in the match, but could not beat goalkeeper Tim Howard.
This match was the fourth time the two countries have played one another at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. USA remains undefeated in the group stage of the tournament.
The Americans started the game with pace and used the first 20 minutes to exploit space and used its speed to get into open areas in the Canadian half. Altidore and 18 year-old Agudelo were at the front of the 4-4-2 formation and created majority of chances in the first half.
Canada started the game slow as the Americans helmed the ball inside the Canadian half as USA continued to build pressure and create opportunities from the opening whistle. The Canadian defence, however, played well by blocking shots and clearing the ball out of harm's way.
USA captialized in the 16th minute, when Altidore found space on the right side and fired a bad angle shot that somehow eluded Hirschfeld. The goal gave the host an early 1-0 lead.
The match slowed down considerably in the middle part of the first half as Canada settled into the game and clogged the midfield. Slowly, Terry Dunfield started to find some space. He began finding Josh Simpson open on the left or putting the ball ahead for Dwayne De Rosario and Simeon Jackson. With USA already ahead 1-0, it seemed as though the Americans were content to sit back a little and wait for its chances to press forward.
In the 34th minute, De Rosario nearly converted on a long-range strike from 30 yards out. The shot curved just wide of the right post, but Howard would have made the save anyways.
Agudelo nearly fooled Hirschfeld in the 40th minute with a tricky strike with the outside of his foot but the Canadian goalkeeper stretched to make the save. Less than a minute later, Agudelo was at it again, this time from 25 yards out with a shot that deflected off a defender and nearly fooled Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld came up with another big save.
In the second half the pitch looked chopped up and the conditions continued to worsen as the match wore on. USA extended its lead in the 62nd minute when Altidore made an inspired run into the Canadian 18-yard box. He put a perfect cross over to Dempsey who slid and knocked the ball past an out-of-position Hirschfeld to increase the lead to 2-0.
Canada had two glorious chances towards the end of the match, but Howard made two great saves on substitute Ali Gerba. Howard played well to earn the clean sheet.
Canada's starting XI featured Lars Hirschfeld in goal, Nik Ledgerwood at left back, André Hainault and Kevin McKenna at centre back, Marcel de Jong at right back, and Atiba Hutchinson, Terry Dunfield, Will Johnson, Dwayne De Rosario, Josh Simpson and Simeon Jackson from the midfield up through to the attack.
In the second half, coach Stephen Hart's three substitutions were Ali Gerba for Will Johnson (65th minute), Dunfield off for Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault (81'), and De Rosario off for Rob Friend (81').
USA's starting XI featured Tim Howard in goal, Steve Cherundolo at right back, Clarence Goodson and Tim Ream at centre back, Carlos Bocanegra at left back. In midfield, the Americans deployed Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones in the middle, with Landon Donovan wide right and Clint Dempsey wide left. Jozy Altidore and Juan Agudelo formed the attacking duo up top.
In the second half, coach Bob Bradley's three substitutions were Chris Wondowlowski for Juan Agudelo (64th minute), Sacha Kljestan for Jozy Altidore (73'), and Maurice Edu for Jermaine Jones (78').
Canada next faces Guadeloupe in Tampa Bay on Saturday 11 June.
