The 19th meeting between Guatemala and the United States ended in familiar fashion with a lone Clint Dempsey first half goal making the difference as the US National Team downed Guatemala in the opening match of the Gold Cup.

Guatemala, as expected, came out defensively with MLS veteran Carlos Ruiz as the lone striker up top, as in the friendly between the two teams in late March that ended in a 0-0 draw.

The US took the game to their opponents from the outset with Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley pushing the ball up the wings looking for the strike duo of Taylor Twellman and Clint Dempsey.

Donovan resumed his role as the primary taker of set pieces and regained his touch that he had seemingly lost in recent games for the red, white and blue.

In the third minute, he sent a corner into the box that found Carlos Bocanegra unmarked for a header that was saved by goalkeeper Ricardo Tregueno.

In the 17th and 18th minutes, the LA Galaxy player put Michael Bradley and Twellman in positions to score, but the game remained scoreless.

The US took the game to their opponents from the outset with Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley pushing the ball up the wings looking for the strike duo of Taylor Twellman and Dempsey.

Donovan resumed his role as the primary taker of set pieces and regained the touch that he had seemingly lost in recent games for the Red, White & Blue.

Beasley, though less active than Donovan on the other wing, was dangerous as a provider and in front of the goal.

In the 21st minute, the PSV Eindhoven player sent a cross into Dempsey at the far post, and the sidewinder just missed the target as it exploded into the side of the net.

Two minutes later, the roles were reversed when Dempsey sent Beasley towards goal, but an offside call nullified the chance that was pushed wide anyway.

The goal came in the 26th minute and it was a left-sided affair.

Left back Jonathan Bornstein sent a long ball towards Beasley, who headed the ball down to Twellman.

The New England front man caught defender Pablo Melgar flat-footed and easily made his way towards the touch line before sending in a low cross to an onrushing Dempsey, who fired the ball into the back of the net from close range.

The lead should have been doubled in the 38th minute when Donovan sent another precision cross into the box, but Twellman, who stepped in front of a wide open Dempsey, only was able to head the ball narrowly over the crossbar.

The game lost a bit of its panache in the second half with the US players feeling the affects of referee Jose Pineda's allowing the Guatemalans, led by defender Leonel Noriega, to play an increasingly physical style.

Frankie Hejduk felt the affects of a hard tackle in the first half, and Dempsey left the field with a slight limp in the 61st
minute.

In the 73rd minute, the US team was reduced to 10 men when Oguchi Onyewu picked up his second yellow card of the game.

The former Clemson player had struggled up to that point and the sending off, though for a non-malicious foul, was not a surprise.

Jay Demerit came on for the last 10 minutes and settled the defense as the US were able to hold onto the lead.

Bob Bradley's charges return to action on Saturday, facing Trinidad & Tobago for Gold Cup game number two in Carson, California.

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Scoring

USA – Clint Dempsey (Taylor Twellman) 26'

Lineups

USA - Tim Howard; Frankie Hejduk, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber (Jay DeMerit 81'), Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Taylor Twellman (Steve Ralston 71'), Clint Dempsey (9-Eddie Johnson 61')

GUA - Ricardo Tregueno; Leonel Noriega (Luis Swisher 89'), Pablo Melgar, Henry Medina, Gustavo Cabrera, Claudio Albizuris, Jose Contreras, Marvin Avila (Carlos Figueroa 81'), Rigoberto Gomez (Mario Rodriguez 71'), Carlos Quinones, Carlos Ruiz