CHICAGO - The United States did not have much going for it when it entered the second half of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Mexico on Sunday.
Not only did the Americans find themselves down a goal, but it also had to fight against the current of the Sea of Green from the pro-Mexican fans attending the contest at Soldier Field.
In the span of 11 minutes, the United States scored two goals, a penalty kick from Landon Donovan and a Benny Feilhaber tally in the 73rd minute, to give the Americans a 2-1 win and their second consecutive Gold Cup.
With the victory, the U.S. and Mexico are tied with the most titles at four apiece.
The last time these two countries faced off in a Gold Cup final was 1998 when "El Tricolor" defeated the United States.
The intensity and physical play was on display for the sellout crowd of 60,000 in Chicago. The United States picked up the first yellow card of the contest when Carlos Bocanegra was shown one in the ninth minute and Mexico followed soon after when Alberto Medina was issued one in the 18th.
It took some time before either team recorded a shot on goal, but the U.S. was the first to register one in the 17th minute.
U.S. attacker Landon Donovan was able to break free and his pass led midfielder DaMarcus Beasley into the Mexican penalty box. With a defender at his side, Beasley tried to get a shot off against Oswaldo Sanchez. The Mexican goalkeeper came out and dove feet first at the ball and, as Beasley was able to get the kick away, Sanchez on his backside threw his right hand up and blocked the American attempt.
Mexico was able to penetrate the American defense in the 25th minute as defender Rafael Marquez headed a shot at the U.S. goal. Goalkeeper Tim Howard jumped straight into the air and tossed the Marquez header over his own crossbar and out of play.
Jonathan Bornstein came excruciatingly close for the U.S. in the 26th minute. The U.S. defender found himself alone on the left side of the field and unloaded a 25-yard attempt which hit the outside netting on the left post side.
Mexico had two corner kicks and a free kick in the span of five minutes but El Tricolor did not threaten but did manage to frustrate the U.S. defense as Pablo Mastroeni was issued a yellow card in the 33rd minute.
Beasley had a free kick in the 35th minute and his shot avoided the Mexican wall but Sanchez hit it away with both hands and ended a possible U.S. score.
After the U.S. narrowly missed a goal on an attempt by Clint Dempsey, Mexican head coach Hugo Sanchez replaced attacker Jared Borgetti with fellow attacker Omar Bravo in the 40th minute. Moments earlier, Borgetti had been attended to by trainers after he fell trying to stop an American offensive play.
Mexico kept on the attack and even though it narrowly missed on a shot by Nery Castillo that went wide right post of the U.S. goal, Castillo was able to redeem himself three minutes later.
Castillo drove from just inside the midfield stripe and penetrated on the right drawing two American defenders as he attacked inside the penalty box. As he made Howard commit, Castillo gave a crossing pass that midfielder Jose Andres Guardado easily put into the back of the American net to take a 1-0 lead entering halftime.
In the second half, Mexico was still on the attack as Castillo attempted two more shots within a span of three minutes with his best try coming in the 51st that sailed over the American crossbar.
But the U.S. would draw level after Mexican defender Jose Jonny Magallon was called card taking down Brian Ching in the box, Donovan slotting home the resulting penalty kick. It was his fourth goal of the tournament, all of which came from the spot.
After the Donovan tally, the U.S. continued on the attack and it paid off in the 73rd minute.
Donovan put a corner kick into play on the right side and as his kick was broken up by a Mexican defender the ball found its way to Feilhaber. The American midfielder immediately shot a missile and it found a happy home high inside the left post giving the U.S. a 2-1 lead.
The U.S. offense did not stop as Ching had a wide open opportunity as he drew Sanchez out, but his floater hit the right post and went out of play in the 76th minute.
Sanchez brought in Cuauhtemoc Blanco in the 78th minute and then Adolfo Bautista in the 81st to generate some sparks for the El Tricolor offense.
In the 89th minute, Mexico nearly tied the game. After a shot was ricocheted from Castillo, Bautista corralled the rebound and had a point-blank shot at Howard. Bautista attempted to beat Howard on the right side but the U.S. 'keeper dove and blocked it out of play with his left hand.
The Americans could have wrapped up the win one minute later. Following the Mexican corner kick, Donovan came away with the loose ball and traveled the length of the field and had a 2-on-1 opportunity with Beasley trailing on the left side of the field. Sanchez came out of the Mexican goal and Donovan placed a perfect pass to Beasley, who tried to chip it in the open goal. Instead, his shot hit the top of the crossbar and went over, but the U.S. held on for the victory to claim the championship.
Timothy Hilton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
