DETROIT: Jozy Altidore scored in the first half and set up Clint Dempsey's goal in the second as the United States opened its Gold Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Canada Tuesday. The margin of victory was enough to put the host on top of Group C, ahead of Panama, which had a 3-2 win over Guadeloupe. The 21-year-old Altidore put the United States ahead in the 15th minute and Dempsey scored in the 62nd from a good Altidore cross. The US, which was coming off a 4-0 friendly loss to World Cup champion Spain on Saturday, has never lost a group stage game at the Gold Cup. “Coming off the game against Spain, you got down a little bit,” Altidore said. “Now, we've just got to build on it, because it's only going to get harder from here.” The US pressured Canada from the start. Altidore scored after running onto a long pass from Landon Donovan. Although Kevin McKenna was back to defend, Altidore was able to turn and take a low shot which slipped under goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld and into the net. There was little Hirschfeld could do about the second goal. Altidore sent a low cross from to the right of the net, and Dempsey stretched to knock the ball in at the far post. “For confidence, it was a good thing,” coach Bob Bradley said. “The movement that led to the first goal and the cross to Dempsey for the second both were great plays.” US goalkeeper Tim Howard was impressive, reacting marvelously to deflect Ali Gerba's powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area with his right hand in the 70th minute. About 15 minutes later, Howard smothered a shot near the edge of the 6-yard box, then made another terrific stop on a volley by Gerba. “Howard was absolute magic,” Canadian coach Stephen Hart said. “I almost clapped.” Oguchi Onyewu was left out of the starting lineup for the Americans. Coach Bob Bradley went with Tim Ream and Clarence Goodson in central defense. “We feel that it's a good combination,” Bob Bradley said. “As we've gone through training, we feel like the balance between the two is good.” In the earlier game, Panama raced to a 3-0 lead after 57 minutes and then held on against 10-man Guadeloupe. Blas Perez and Luis Tejada scored first-half goals and Gabriel Gomez' penalty gave Panama a three-goal buffer inside the hour. Guadeloupe had a setback before halftime when Michael Tacalfred was shown a straight red card for a foul on Luis Henriquez but fought back in the second half. Brice Jovial, who entered the game after the break, took advantage of a poor defensive header at the edge of the box in the 63rd minute and scored off a rebound. His sliding shot off Rochard Socrier's cross made it 3-2 with 18 minutes left, but Panama held on.
