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Ghana defeats the U.S. 2-1 in OT
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By Kevin Baxter
June 26, 2010
Rustenburg, SA — The U.S. team's manic run through the World Cup came to an abrupt end Saturday with a 2-1 overtime loss to Ghana that was decided on a miraculous goal by Asamoah Gyan.
After fighting back to force the extra period on Landon Donovan's penalty kick in the 62nd minute, a mistake early in overtime cost the Americans, with Gyan outracing a pair of defenders for a long pass deep into the American end.
With U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra bumping and hounding him from behind, Gyan managed to knock the ball to the ground with his chest before getting off a left-footed shot just as he hurdled a sliding Jay DeMerit.Round of 16
World Cup Schedule
Germany vs England
Sunday June 27, 2010
10:00 AM EDT
Free State Stadium
(Bloemfontein, South Africa, ZAF)
Argentina vs Mexico
Sunday June 27, 2010
2:30 PM EDT
Soccer City
(Johannesburg, South Africa, ZAF)
Netherlands vs Slovakia
Monday June 28, 2010
10:00 AM EDT
Durban Stadium
(Durban, South Africa, ZAF)
Brazil vs Chile
Monday June 28, 2010
2:30 PM EDT
Ellis Park Stadium
(Johannesburg, South Africa, ZAF)
Paraguay vs Japan
Tuesday June 29, 2010
10:00 AM EDT
Loftus Versfeld Stadium
(Pretoria, South Africa, ZAF)
Spain vs Portugal
Tuesday June 29, 2010
2:30 PM EDT
Green Point
(Cape Town, South Africa, ZAF)
The ball arched over goalkeeper Tim Howard to the far side of the goal and into the net, giving Gyan his third goal of the tournament and sending the U.S. home and Ghana on to the quarterfinals to play Uruguay, a 2-1 winner over South Korea earlier in the day.
In was a painful way to lose for a team that hadn't done anything the easy way in this tournament, coming from behind to earn draws with both England and Slovenia before beating Algeria on a Donovan goal in stoppage time just to qualify for the second round.
One thing the U.S. has never done in a World Cup, however, is come back from a halftime deficit to win. So when they went to the dressing room Saturday trailing 1-0, it was a bad omen.
There would be no miracle comebacks by the Cardiac Kids this time.
Donovan, playing in his U.S.-record 12th World Cup game, gave them a chance, though, sending the game in overtime with a penalty kick goal that matched a score by Ghana's Kevin Prince Boateng in the fifth minute.
This is the second time in as many World Cups that Ghana has sent the U.S. packing with a 2-1 win, having knocked the U.S. out in group play in 2006.
That came in Ghana's World Cup debut and it carried the Black Stars into the second round. This time they're going to the quarterfinals, where they will meet Uruguay on Friday night at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.
In the first World Cup on African soil, Ghana, who rode to the game Saturday in a bus painted with the slogan, "The Hope of Africa," will carry the continent's flag forward.
Despite the bitter end, for the U.S. this World Cup has been equal parts good soccer and good fortune, a two-week roller-coaster ride that ended in the same place where it started -- tiny Royal Bafokeng Stadium, squeezed on a South African plain between the old mining town of Rustenburg and the modern resort playground of Sun City.
Along the way the team won the cheers of a Bush, former USC tailback Reggie, who attended last Wednesday's win over Algeria, and a Clinton, former President Bill, who extended his stay in South Africa to attend Saturday's game.
Clinton, by the way, was sitting with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones while the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, fresh off a winning run of his own, was also in the house.
They watched Ghana get its goal when Kwadwo Asamoah took the ball from Ricardo Clark at the midfield stripe and fed Boateng, who raced up the left wing before letting go a left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area that beat Howard cleanly to the near post.
It was the first time Ghana has scored on anything other than a penalty kick in this World Cup and Boateng, Ghana's bad boy striker, celebrated by dancing off the pitch and up the track surrounding the field as his teammates gave chase.
The score was also the first Howard had allowed in more than then 140 minutes, but it marked the second time in four games he has given one up in the opening six minutes. England's Steven Gerrard scored on him in the fourth minute of the U.S. opener on the same field in a game the Americans would come back to tie.
The U.S. came back to tie this one too, But some of the credit for Donovan's goal of the tournament should go to Clint Demspey, who drew a foul with a nice run he started by turning defender John Mensah around before racing into the box. Ghana's Jonathan Mensah gave chase, earning a yellow card with a hard tackle from behind.
In the end, however, the size of the U.S. heart couldn't match the speed of the Ghanaians, who gave the American defenders fits and quickly closed gaps on the defensive end.
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2010, 2009
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