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| May 28, 2006 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1427 |
US blanks Venezuela 2-0 in warm-up
CLEVELAND (Ohio), May 27: Clint Dempsey and Brian Ching scored and the United States snapped a three-game winless skid by defeating Venezuela 2-0 here Friday in a warm-up friendly for next month's World Cup.
Ching scored on a leaping right-foot flick in the 36th minute while an onrushing Dempsey headed in an insurance goal in the 69th minute, helping ease American worries after an ejection left them a man down in the last minutes.
Carlos Bocanegra, starting a day after his 27th birthday, was sent off for his second yellow card in the 82nd minute but the South Americans could not take advantage and spoil the second of three games in the US send-off tour.
Unlike the opener, the Americans appeared to avoid losing a key player to a major injury.
The US squad lost defender Cory Gibbs for the World Cup with a right knee injury in a 1-0 loss Tuesday to Morocco and saw captain Claudio reyna sidelined until the start of the football showdown in Germany with a hamstring strain.
Ching scored off a centering pass from Bobby Convey, going airborne to redirect the ball past Venezuela goalkeeper Javier Toyo.
Dempsey ran onto an Eddie Johnson cross into the heart of the penalty area and nodded the ball past a helpless Toyo, earning only his fourth cap.
The Americans were winless since Dempsey's goal brought a 1-0 victory over Poland on March 1. The Us team lost 4-1 to Germany in March, drew 1-1 at home with Jamaica in April before the Morocco defeat.
The US squad improved to 2-0 with a draw against Venezuela and will conclude their warm-up tour Sunday against Latvia.—AFP
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