GOLD CUP: USA 2 HONDURUS 1 - Dempsey's Double Sinks Honduras

It was far from perfect. It was sloppy, disorganized, and frantic. But it was just barely enough for a win. Against Honduras on Tuesday night, the US men's national team started its Gold Cup title defense with a 2-1 win thanks to Clint Dempsey's head and goalkeeper Brad Guzan's nearly flawless night.

The result is one that the US can live with, as it vaults the US to the top of its group. The performance, however, might not be one that the US can replicate if it expects to go deep into the tournament -- the US will need to tune up its game against Haiti on Friday.


"It wasn't our best performance," Dempsey said. "But we're happy to get three points in the first game."

From the opening whistle, Honduras demonstrated why the game wouldn't result in an easy victory for the USMNT. And if not for some stellar goalkeeping by Guzan, Honduras would've surged in front.

In just the third minute, Guzan was forced to parry away a point-blank shot -- one that required him to dive and extend to his right -- after Anthony Lozano slipped in behind the US' backline. And all game, Guzan made sure he was aggressive in his approach, coming out multiple times to put an end to Honduran long balls played over the top of the defense.

Dempsey didn't let Guzan's performance go to waste.

He got the scoring started in the 25th minute. After a scramble off a corner kick ended up on the foot of Jozy Altidore, Altidore blasted a shot that deflected off Honduran goalkeeper Donis Escober. The deflection traveled straight toward Dempsey's head and he didn't hesitate to put away the first goal of the game.

For the remainder of the half, the US managed to stay out in front, despite getting outshot 9-3.

"They came out really aggressive," Dempsey said after the game. "They were causing us some problems."

In the 64th minute, Dempsey struck again. And, again, it came via his head. This time, Michael Bradley whipped in a free kick toward the far post. Dempsey rose above a crowd of players, and headed the ball down and into the back of the net. The US led, 2-0, over Honduras.

But just when the US relaxed, Honduras got back into the mix.

Five minutes after Dempsey's second goal, Carlos Discua made the game interesting. Discua took an excellent first touch to free himself inside the box (and he was helped by some really poor defending from Ventura Alvarado) and rocketed a laser past Guzan from in close.

Closing out the remainder of the game proved to be a challenge for the US, as Honduras came close on multiple occasions to knotting it up. In the 82nd minute, a cross made its way past Guzan, but Eddie Hernandez's shot on the empty net went wide of the far post. And, two minutes later, Hernandez just missed the net from well inside the box.

Eventually, after Honduras launched its final assault -- a free kick that was deflected by an American wall -- the referee ended the game. And, though the US certainly made it difficult on itself, it left Texas with three hard-earned points.