PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 19 (UPI) -- DaMarcus Beasley scored in injury time Saturday to give the United States a 2-1 triumph over South Korea in the first round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Beasley notched the goal in the third and final minute of injury time. Landon Donovan and Jeff Cuningham combined to spring him free, setting up a point-blank shot.
The Americans recorded just their second victory in six meetings with the Koreans, who will face the United States again in June in the first round of the 2002 World Cup.
The Americans will play Cuba on Monday and need only a tie to ensure a spot in the quarterfinals. South Korea downed the United States, 1-0, in an international friendly in December.
Saturday's effort, however, was a largely unimpressive performance from the United States. That was not unexpected since many of the country's best players were not in the lineup.
Yet the U.S. got into hot water immediately when Danny Califf pulled down Choi Yong-Soo in the seventh minute for an immediate foul. But Yoo Sang-Chul's penalty shot went right into the arms of a waiting Kasey Keller, who did not have to budge from his line.
Califf got burned three times in the first 10 minutes as the Koreans went right at the rookies. Carlos Bocanegra also got a taste of the action as Lee Chun-Soo wheeled around him to get a shot on Keller in the ninth minute.
Donovan got the United States on the board first in the 35th minute with a goal that came against the run of play. Ante Razov managed to exploit the Korean's offside trap with a neat ball that sprung Donovan cleanly, allowing the teen-age phenom to lope a ball over Lee Woon Jae.
Korea struck back three minutes later when Song Chong-Gug bent a 35-yard right-footed blast into the top of the net, cleanly beating Keller. No one from the American team marked Song, continuing the defense's miserable game-long performance.
The second half was no better as the Koreans shelled the Americans, including a remarkable flurry in the 52nd minute that saw the ball crossed six times in front of the American net before it finally was cleared off the line by Califf.
In the first game of the day, Mexico blanked El Salvador, 1-0, before an estimated 40,000. Mexico nabbed the winner in the 31st minute when Jair Garcia collected a muffed save by Santos Rivera.
On Friday night in Miami, Costa Rica shut down Martinique, 2-0, and Canada defeated Haiti by the same score in the tournament's first two contests.
