USA defeats Barbados in 2nd leg, 1-0 : USA Advance to Round 3

[TheGift]

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS (TICKER) —Eddie Lewis scored in the first half as the United States advanced to the regional semifinals of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup on Sunday with an uninspiring 1-0 triumph over Barbados.

Coming in with an extremely altered squad after an 8-0 demolition of Barbados in the first leg last Sunday in California, the U.S. knew it basically had to just show up in order to move on in qualifying.

Lewis, wearing the captain’s armband, provided the game’s only goal in the 21st minute off a through ball from Freddy Adu, who was starting for the first time in a World Cup qualifier.

“We started figuring out early that the third runner was going to be the key,” Lewis said. “Their defenders were following our forwards, but they weren’t doing such a good job of tracking midfield runs. I saw an opportunity to run through, and Freddy played a nice ball. I saw the keeper coming, and just tried to slip it through.”

“For the series we feel good about the work we’ve done,” United States coach Bob Bradley. “This was an opportunity to use different players and it is important to get some young players experience. We had the confidence that we were strong enough defensively that we would hold together to get the win.”

The U.S., seeking its sixth straight World Cup berth, will face Guatemala in the regional semis starting in August. Guatemala advanced on 9-1 aggregate score over St. Lucia.

Ranked just 121st in the world, Barbados nearly tied the game in the 58th minute when Emerson Boyce’s header beat Brad Guzman before glancing off the crossbar. In the 86th minute, John Parris put the ball past Boyce but the goal was nullified on an offsides call on Mark McCammon.

Despite changing seven starters from the first leg, the U.S. managed to blank Barbados for the fourth time in as many meetings. The U.S. has outscored the Caribbean island nation by a lopsided 20-0 margin all-time.

U.S. advances in World Cup qualifying - World Soccer - Yahoo! Sports