2009 Gold Cup: United States - Haiti

FULL TIME- A scintillating match between the US and Haiti. Stuart Holden is deservedly man of the match. Haiti have been incredibly fun to watch tonight. Both teams go to their respective crowds and receive applause. Brilliant match.

90th- GOAL!!! 2-2! Holden with a scorcher from 30 yards, equalizing the scores in the 92nd minute. Holden has had a brilliant game with a goal and an assist. The US remain undefeated vs. CONCACAF competition since 2001.

87th- US are giving it all they can, but Haiti are surviving.

84th- Davy Arnaud is brought down in the corner, resulting in a free kick for the US. Davies almost scores, but a Haitian defender bravely blocks it. All out defense for Haiti at the moment.

80th- Charlie Davies is taken down in the penalty area, but the only call is a goal-kick. Kyle Beckerman is then given a yellow card for a slight shirt tug.

79th- Fabrice Noel comes off for Abel Thermeus. Noel took a while to get off the field.

76th- Charlie Davies and Stuart Holden combine to create an opportunity for Sam Cronin, who has a great strike with his left foot. Colin Clark subbed out, Brian Ching comes on.

74th- Beckerman picks out Colin Clark, but his shot is deflected. Haitian players are going down frequently trying to waste time. And who can blame them?

69th- Charlie Davies intercepts a poor pass, but directs the ball just to the far side of the right post.

68th- Colin Clark connects with Stuart Holden, who is, once again, remarkably unlucky not to score. Great glancing header and great chance for the US.

67th- It looks like Beckerman is in the central midfield with Cronin now, and Holden has been pushed out to the right flank.

65th- US win a corner after a string of one-touch passing. Davy Arnaud strikes off the corner, but it is deflected for another corner.

63rd- Kyle Beckerman is on Santino Quaranta, and Charlie Davies is on for Kenny Cooper. Can Davies continue to make an impact? This game is getting scrappy.

61st- The US are storming down the flanks, but the final ball just isn’t there. Flowing play by the US.

58th- US have finally shown their class and are heaping on the pressure, as all US fans would expect them to. However, Bob Bradley needs to change something up.

52nd- Well the Haitian fans are jubilant at the moment, and the players are playing with venom. They want to be in the Gold Cup Quarterfinals.

49th- GOAL!!! 2-1 Haiti! Mones Chery scores a thunderbolt and Haiti are actually leading the US 2-1! How will Bob Bradley’s men respond? This has been a terrible start to the 2nd half by the United States.

46th- GOAL!!! 1-1 Haiti has just scored! Wonderful cross and is put away well by Sirin Vaniel. We certainly have a game on our hands.

Halftime- Well apart from the US dominating possession for the majority of the game, Haiti have had their chances. Davy Arnaud had a nice goal, and Stuart Holden had a beautiful strike off the underside of the bar. Haiti have had two golden chances blocked off the goal-line, and the Haitian fans seem content. I would be surprised not to see another goal. If the US scores again, then the game is over. But if Haiti score then I have no idea what will happen.

47th- Great play by Haiti in injury time. A great run down the flank, but two Haitian players fail to convert. Robles makes a great goal-line save, and then the next shot goes into side-netting. Haiti truly failed to capitalize.

45th- Great run by Quaranta to win a corner. Corner results in Davy Arnaud nearly missing with a header.

43rd- US corner which Cooper puts right over the crossbar.

42nd- US executes a very poor free-kick. Open play continues.

39th- Play has not really settled down since the goal, but the Haitian fans are going insane every time their team have the ball.

31st- Parkhurst is shown a yellow card for pulling down Vaniel. Bit of theatre from Vaniel to be honest, it looked like he was shot. Haiti just barely misses the top-corner on the following free-kick.

29th- Stuart Holden just unleashes a laser that hits the bottom of the crossbar, unlucky not to be a goal. Haiti’s Noel counters with a wonderful strike that Robles bobbles, and pulls it off the goal-line.

27th- James Marcelin’s shirt is pulled by Davy Arnaud, who was subsequently shown a yellow card.

26th- Quananta serves a cross in on a platter, and Arnaud should do much, much better. Can’t get too much on Arnaud though, he did score a wonderful goal.

21st- Kenny Cooper is pulled down in the box, and the US players appeal for a penalty, which is not given. All that results the subsequent corner was a Jay Heaps header over the bar. The former Duke basketball player sure has a great vertical.

20th- Stuart Holden and Sam Cronin have been absolutely dominant in the midfield. Haiti is starting to get more physical as a response to superior technique.

17th- Great passing leads to a half-chance for the US, but the Statesmen have clearly taken a hold on this game.

10th- Colin Clark produces a scintillating run, but is brought down. Free kick leads to a US corner.

6th Minute- GOAL!!! US 1-0 And Davy Arnaud is the catalyst. He latches onto a through ball distributed by Stuart Holden, and slides it under the Haitian keeper, Zephirin.

4th Minute- Colin Clark unleashes an early strike that goes a few yards over the net.

1st Minute- And we’re off. Haiti showing some flair in the opening moments.

Pregame: Teams just took the field, kickoff is only moments away.

Players are formally walking out of the tunnel behind the FIFA Fair Play sign. Good turn out from the fans, and thousands of Haitian fans showed up to support their country.

Obviously an experimental line-up by Bob Bradley. Sam Cronin will get his first cap. Cronin, the Wake Forest product, has already made his presence felt at Toronto FC as a rookie this year. Perhaps Bob Bradley will find motivation in these players to try to make names for themselves. Haiti still has a chance, but Honduras will surely eliminate them by beating Grenada shortly after this game concludes.

Line-ups just announced.

US lineup- Luis Robles;

Santino Quaranta, Stuart Holden, Sam Cronin, Colin Clark;

Kenny Cooper, Davy Arnaud

US Bench- Troy Perkins, Heath Pearce, Clarence Goodson, Kyle Beckerman, Robbie Rogers, Charlie Davies, Brian Ching

Haiti lineup- Jean Dominique Zephirin, Frantz Gilles, Frantz Bertin, Judelin Aveska, Leonel Saint Preaux, Fabrice Noel, James Marcelin, Pierre Richard Bruny, Mones Chery, Raymond Ednerson, Sirin Vaniel