AP photo / Ricardo Clark scored Wednesday's lone goal.
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Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark sensed that he was about to be subbed out of Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago. A goal helped change U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley's tactics.
Clark netted a goal in the 62nd minute as the U.S. defeated T&T, 1-0, to take the CONCACAF lead with 16 points.
The U.S. is a victory away from clinching a World Cup berth with an Oct. 10 win against Honduras.
Once again, the Los Angeles Galaxy's Landon Donovan was the team's key setup man. Donovan hung onto the ball from the left wing, saw Clark cutting toward the top of the key and Clark did the rest, striking a bending ball away from T&T goalkeeper Clayton Ince.
"Throughout the whole game, Landon was able to get down the line, and that cutback was on," Clark said. "I love being at the top of the box waiting for that shot. It's a big part of my game. I just tried to let it rip, hit it on frame, and it went in." (Click here for more U.S. postgame quotes, provided by USSoccer.com.)
Three points against T&T were more than a welcome sight for a U.S. team that had a dismal first half. The Americans caught a huge break when the San Jose Earthquakes' Cornell Glen nearly gave T&T the early lead within the first 30 minutes. Off of a throw-in, Glen caught the U.S. defense napping a bit, got inside position, and his shot hit the crossbar. Glen vigorously pounded the ground with both fists following that huge scoring chance.
Former N.Y./N.J. MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard made four saves for the clean sheet, while T&T's Ince saved five shots.
Though the performance was lackluster, the U.S. is now in the driver's seat of the CONCACAF with 16 points, followed by Mexico (15), Honduras (13) and Costa Rica (12). T&T mathematically is eliminated from qualifying.
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Charlie Corr is a freelance sports writer based in Chicago. In addition to his Major League Soccer duties, he is the Chicago Sports Examiner and the creator of a Chicago-based soccer Web site, SlideTackles.net.
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