The U.S. blew past Trinidad & Tobago like a Carnival Cruise, winning their third straight World Cup qualifier 3-0 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., and taking a commanding lead in Group 1 of CONCACAF qualifying.
Even Bradley's harshest critics (myself included) have to admit that his coaching on set pieces has been excellent, as evidenced by the U.S.'s first goal in just the 10th minute. With a free kick on the right wing on the edge of the final third, Landon Donovan delivered a long, search ball into the mixer and an unmarked Michael Bradley stuck a boot out and redirected it into goal only 10 minutes into the match.
The U.S. doubled their lead in the 19th minute when DaMarcus Beasley slotted a through ball past the backline to a charging Dempsey who calmly fired a low shot inside the left post. It was Duece's second goal in consecutive games.
This game made it obvious that Ching isn't talented enough to collect and turn. Most of his success is a result of crossing service to his head or garbage clean-up on rebounds. He nearly cost the U.S. its second goal with an ill-timed offside run, but the referee ruled that he was uninvolved in the play. Later, Ching missed an absolute gimmie, squandering a terrific pass by Donovan.
And speaking of garbage put-backs, that is how Ching got on the scorer's sheet in the 57th minute to make it U.S 3, T&T 0. A scrum in the box, and Oguchi Onyewu's initial header eventually falls to Ching. Speaking of garbage (ouch), EdJo made an appearance in the match, proving that rumors of his Cuban defection weren't true. But maybe they should have been, as the former Wizards forward missed three put-backs from close-range in the final 10 minutes.
TYH's Patriot of the Pitch©: Michael Bradley
MATCH REPORT
| TEAM | 1st half | 2nd half | Final |
| USA | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| T&T | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring:
Bradley (Donovan) 10.
Dempsey (Beasley) 19.
Lineups:
USA: Howard; Cherundolo, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Pearce; Dempsey (Lewis 78), Kljestan, Bradley (Clark 68), Donovan, Beasley; Ching (Johnson 67).
T&T: Phillip; Edwards, Telesford, Thomas, Gray, Hislop; Leon, Edwards, Theobald (Wolfe 46), Daniel; Glen.
Misconduct Summary:
| STATS | USA | T&T |
| Shots | 11 | 6 |
| Shots OG | 6 | 2 |
| Saves | 1 | 3 |
| Corners | 4 | 5 |
| Fouls | 9 | 12 |
| Offside | 9 | 1 |
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