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Jones, Dempsey put U.S. past Jamaica, into semis
WASHINGTON -- Midfielder Jermaine Jones scored his first international goal and Clint Dempsey added the insurance to boost the United States to a 2-0 victory over Jamaica in the Gold Cup quarterfinals at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium on Sunday.
The Americans next will play Panama on Wednesday in the semifinals, a rematch of their group encounter won by "Los Canaleros" 2-1.
The victory extended the United States' unbeaten history over Jamaica to 18 matches with its 10th victory, including 11 games on U.S. soil with eight wins.
The United States played most of the game without midfield linchpin Landon Donovan, who started on the bench.
Donovan and Dempsey were given permission by coach Bob Bradley to miss three days of training prior to the match to attend their sisters' weddings in California and Texas, respectively. Both players returned via charter flights financed by U.S. Soccer. Dempsey flew into the U.S. capital at 2 a.m. Sunday, while Donovan arrived at 7:30 a.m. - 7 1/2 hours before kickoff.
Donovan couldn't go the full 90 and replaced Alejandro Bedoya in the 65th minute.
"It's been a busy stretch for Landon and we thought [with an] afternoon game, [it] made sense using him as a reserve today knowing that we could bring him on and he could give us a lot," Bradley said.
Dempsey was raring to go.
"I just wanted to pay back the U.S. team for letting me go to my sisters' wedding and come out with a good performance and not let the travel be an excuse, rather it be motivation to come out and to fight harder," he said. "I was able to chip in today and help the team win."
The Americans dominated the match, imposing themselves on the Reggae Boyz early on. They never let up.
"We just played good football," said Dempsey. "We were patient. We were confident. We moved the ball around well. We made it difficult for them to play out of the back. We were able to find players in-between their lines. We were able to create chances for ourselves. The mentality of keep going, keep pressing them, keep taking the game to them. I think eventually we wore them down."
Jones, who was making his ninth appearance for the United States, scored in the 49th minute. Jamaica defender Jermaine Taylor headed out a corner kick that went toward Jones, who volleyed it from 22 yards. The shot deflected off Taylor and past goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. It was the first goal allowed by Jamaica in the tournament, breaking a 319-minute shutout streak.
"The first goal you score with the national team is always special and even more so that it was a very important goal for us tonight," Jones said through a translator, teammate and defender Steve Cherundolo. "So I am very proud of that."
Jones, named man of the match, celebrated his goal by saluting his father, who served in the U.S. military.
"I'm very proud to give my father on Father's Day a nice little gift," he said. "He was a soldier and so it was a nice sign of respect for my father."
Dempsey, who missed several chances in the 1-0 win over Guadeloupe on Tuesday and a few more Sunday, finally ended his scoring frustration.
Juan Agudelo, who replaced the injured Jozy Altidore (left hamstring strain) in the 12th minute, drew two defenders on the right side of the penalty area and rolled a simple ball into the middle of the box. With Ricketts raced off his line and slid to block Dempsey, who took a touch around him and tapped the ball in from three yards in the 80th minute for his 21st international goal.
Dempsey, who had missed five chances in the 1-0 win over Guadeloupe in the Group C finale, was happy to have scored.
"Just getting that off your back after the last game," he said. "Just the fact I missed so many chances. I had to keep picking myself up after a bad situation that happened. I rise above it and was able to chip in with a goal. That's the most important thing."
The Jamaicans had their best chance in the fourth minute as midfielder Michael Bradley lost the ball. Dane Richards worked his way in to send a right-cross to Ryan Johnson, who fired from point-blank range. Goalkeeper Tim Howard blocked the shot and forward Luton Shelton put the rebound over the crossbar.
"It seems such a clear offside, but it wasn't," Howard said. "I think we shut off a little bit. We didn't pay the price for it, but it woke us up. We didn't give them any more opportunities like that."
The Jamaicans were forced to play the final 23 minutes a man down after Taylor was awarded a red card by Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez after he took down an onrushing Jones from behind.
After recording three wins in the Group Stage and outscoring their foes, 7-0, Jamaica left the tournament with its first loss.
"We knew [the game] wasn't going to be easy," coach Theodore Whitmore said. "In the first 25 minutes we didn't get in our rhythm in terms of composure and ball position. It's hard to play that game against a U.S. team that plays like that."
Quarterfinals
June 18 Costa Rica 1 - 1
Pen 2 - 4 Honduras
Mexico 2 - 1 Guatemala
June 19 Jamaica 0 - 2 United States
Panama 1 - 1
Pen 5 - 3 El Salvador
Semifinals
June 22 United States 7:00 PM Panama
Honduras 10:00 PM Mexico