United States 2 0 Honduras: Quaranta, subs power US to victory

July 9, 10:25 AMSoccer ExaminerNicholas Richards

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Quaranta celebrates his first US goal (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

For 75 minutes, the United States sputtered, the rhythm of their 4-0 field day over Grenada on Independence Day vanishing into the Washington, D.C. night.

Enter Santino Quaranta, the forgotten man.

The DC United midfielder, who has battled numerous injuries and has admitted to alcohol and drug abuse during his turbulent career, capped a brilliant attacking move from the US, providing the winner - and his first goal in a US shirt - in a tough 2-0 win over Honduras in the Gold Cup.

The US struggled for much of the night against a tougher opponent. Honduras is nearly 50 spots higher in the latest FIFA rankings than Grenada, so this was never going to be a cake walk. If World Cup qualifying ended today, Honduras would be playing in South Africa next summer. What Grenada didn't provide to the US - namely, a test of any kind - Honduras did, and then some. The US controlled possession for large portions of the match, but the Hondurans should have led after the 30th minute. Walter Martinez was through on goal with only US goalkeeper Troy Perkins to beat, but he scuffed his shot into the side-netting.

Opportunities were few and far between in a dour first half for both sides. The US continued their funk into the second half until Bob Bradley made changes in the 64th minute, taking off ineffective pair Freddy Adu and Logan Pause for Charlie Davies and Benny Feilhaber. The move paid immediate dividends. The US looked far more potent with Davies running off target man Brian Ching than Adu, and Feilhaber brought direction and calm to a midfield that had looked nervous and struggled delivering the final ball.

That is until Quaranta's goal. From a US throw-in, Feilhaber worked a nice 1-2 before finding Davies at the top of the penalty box. Davies squared the ball to Quaranta, who fired into the net near-post to set off a teary-eyed celebration. 4 minutes later, Ching headed in - virtually unmarked - from a terrific Steve Cherundolo cross to put away their pesky opponents.

This wasn't a brilliant performance from the US. However, it was a test, which is exactly what Bradley would want for his young players as they learn the ropes on the international stage. The US was stuck in neutral for much of this match, but dug deep when it had to, and Bradley made the right changes to kick-start an otherwise poor performance. It wasn't pretty, but it's three more points heading into Saturday's final group match with Haiti in Boston.