19 Years Old and April Fool's Day

With the U.S. salvaging a 2-2 draw in El Salvador earlier in the week, the third match of the final round of qualifying found the home team at LP Field in Nashville, for a match with Trinidad & Tobago, on Wednesday, April 1st.

The Americans were sitting in second place in the group after taking four of the possible six points in the first two matches. The need was for a strong effort, and more importantly, to secure the win, and three points, to keep pace with the front runners of the group.

With Helen, and the kids; Katie, Will, and Hunter (center, above), having never been to a USMNT match, we road-tripped the three-and-a-half hours up from Atlanta, and made a family outing of the event. Another 27,955 folks were on hand on a perfect spring evening, and the U.S. got to work early, taking a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.

It was not the first good chance at goal, however, as in the eighth minute, midfielder Clint Dempsey nodded down a header into the path of forward Brian Ching's run. The high-energy Houston Dynamo forward then broke the right flank, beating goalkeeper, Clayton Ince, but narrowly sliding the ball past the far post (above).

It wouldn't take much longer for the U.S. to go on top, as Ching received a long ball from the back line, off the foot of defender Carlos Bocanegra. Ching directed the knock-down header to team captain Landon Donovan, who quickly settled the ball off his chest, and slid a pass across the six-yard box to 19-year old forward Jozy Altidore, who buried the one-touch ball into the net.

Altidore almost got a second goal in the 27th minute, but his deftly weighted chip, off a pass from midfielder Michael Bradley, dipped just over the crossbar. The visitors would have one of their best chances to equalize in the 33rd minute when MLS and Premier League veteran, Stern John, volleyed a hard shot wide of the goal to keeper Tim Howard's right.

Despite a couple more great chances to expand the lead just before halftime, the Americans went to intermission up 1-0, which nonetheless, bode well for the home team, as under coach bob Bradley, the USMNT, was at that time, 15-0-1 when leading at half.

It would take until the 71st minuute before the home team could breathe a bit easier. Donovan took a pass from DaMarcus Beasley, spinning past a defender out to the left flank before centering the ball to Altidore. The teenager calmy cut past the last defender, then curled a far post shot into the far side netting for a 2-0 lead.

Fresh legs came off the bench in the 81st and 84th minutes; first Francisco Torres for Ching, then Sacha Kljestan for Dempsey. The energy level increased, sparking the attack for the match's final minutes. With one minute left in regulation, Bradley received a long ball up the right flank from defender Frankie Hejduk. Bradley drove towards goal, then laid the ball off to an unmarked Donovan on the left side of the box. Instead of shooting, Donovan laid the ball back to the top of the box, and after one touch, Altidore slipped his third goal under a diving Ince to complete the hat trick.

The win moved the U.S. to the top of the CONCACAF standings, as Mexico fell to Honduras, 3-1, and Costa Rica kept pace but was one point behind following a win against El Salvador. Man of the Match Altidore scored in consecutive games for the first time in his U.S. career, and with all three assists, Donovan extended his team record career assists total to 35. The U.S., remained undefeated in home qualifying matches in their drive towards 2010 and South Africa.

As with all the content of this blog, written and photographic, Copyrighted 2009-10, All Rights Reserved, Perry McIntyre, Atlanta, GA - USA.