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US beat Honduras 2-1 to reach Gold Cup final
Honduras had won only two of 11 previous meetings against the United States, the last a 2001 World Cup qualifying win in Washington. Nunez's goal followed 30 minutes of mostly Honduran possession and chances. He ran onto a ball served down the middle by Mario Ivan Guerrero and beat U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller from 19 yards (meters), delighting the overwhelmingly partisan Honduran crowd. But the United States dominated the second half, tying the match in the 86th when Onyewu fed Landon Donovan in the penalty area. The American midfielder drove across the area and Honduras defender Erick Vallecilo poked it onto the left foot of O'Brien, who volleyed the ball inside the near post. Onyewu scored the winner heading in a long ball from Donovan, knocking it in off the underside of the crossbar. Honduras started quickly, putting its first chance on goal 35 seconds after the opening kickoff. Wilmer Valasquez stripped defender Eddie Pope of the ball just outside the U.S. penalty area, but his shot was weak and easily handled by Keller. U.S. fortunes were hampered in the 15th when Pope was forced to leave because of a sprained left ankle and was replaced by Frankie Hejduk. Onyewu, who started on the right side of the defense in a three-back formation, moved to the center and allowed Hejduk to take over his position. Besides losing Pope, the United States also lost Bruce Arena in the 59th when Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast ejected the American manager for dissent. "I don't know what happened," Arena said. "There was a foul on (Chris) Armas
and I jumped up, protested the call and used a four-letter word. The referee
took direction from the fourth official."
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