#2436: Haiti out of Gold Cup: bringing closure to this one

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

>From Bob Corbett:

The last we heard on this list after Haiti's 1-1 tie with Peru we knew
that Haiti could only advance if the U.S. defeated Peru by 4 goals.

It didn't happen.  The US defeated Peru only 1-0 so Peru advances and
not Haiti.  Here's that story:

Jones gives USA a 1-0 win over Peru

(February 16, 2000) -- Cobi Jones lifted the U.S. to a 1-0 victory over 
Peru with a second-half goal that gave the Americans a perfect 2-0 record 
and a berth in the Gold Cup quarterfinals against Colombia. 
Entering the match, both Peru and the U.S. were assured of advancing to 
the quarterfinals, successfully eliminating Haiti from their Group. They 
were, however, not content to sit back and take the free pass to the next 
round. 

After a tightly played first half which produced few scoring 
opportunities, play began to open up in the second 45 minutes. 

Peru at times seemed able to solve the USA's back three of Carlos 
Llamosa, Greg Vanney and Eddie Pope, but the Peruvians were unable to 
solve American goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who recorded his second-straight 
shutout of the tournament. 

In the 59th minute, the USA's Eddie Lewis busted down the left side and 
cut the ball back to his right foot, then found Jones 11 yards out from 
the Peruvian goal. Jones headed Lewis' pass into the right-hand corner 
past goalkeeper Oscar Ibanez. It was Jones' second goal of the 
tournament. 

Friedel made two game-saving stops in the final 23 minutes. Friedel, who 
has yet to break into the lineup of English Premier League side 
Liverpool, showed no rust from his stint on the Liverpool bench. He 
smothered a point-blank shot from substitute Ysrael Zuniga in the 67th 
minute, and seven minutes later, Friedel deflected a straight-on blast 
from Abel Lobaton. 

The win gave the USA first place in Group B, and they advance to meet 
Colombia, runner-up in Group A, Saturday at 3:00 pm in Miami's Orange 
Bowl. 

After a convincing 4-0 rout of Jamaica in their opening match, Colombia 
struggled against a Honduras side from which little was expected entering 
the tournament. 

Scoreless after 45 minutes, Honduras struck twice in the second half, 
getting a 71st-minute goal from Carlos Pavon, who beat the Colombia's 
offside trap and knocking a low, hard shot past Colombian goalkeeper 
Miguel Calero. 

The Hondurans put the game away in the 78th minute when Milton Nunez 
headed home a right-side cross after a counter-attack. 

Honduras, by virtue of their surprising win, won Group A and advanced to 
meet Peru in the quarterfinals. Both quarterfinal matches can be heard 
live on internetsoccer.com beginning with the U.S.-Colombia match at 3 pm 
Eastern Time. 

Saturday's winners advance to the semifinals Feb. 23-24 in San Diego and 
Los Angeles.