Mexico went into halftime with the lead, but the US National Team was able to rally for a 2-1 Gold Cup final win over Mexico at Chicago's Soldier Field on Sunday thanks to a Landon Donovan spot kick, a Benny Feilhaber volley supreme and a huge stoppage time save from Tim Howard.

In a game to remember, Bob Bradley's US team held firm under pressure for a comeback win after having been pinned back by Andres Guardado's top corner strike right before the half.

The action was end to end for the breadth of the 90 minutes, and it started off with Guardado finding room behind the American backline time and again. It was the US that found itself on the back foot from the opening minutes, with the Guardado working the left and Nery Castillo using his audacity to test the waters on the right.

In the ninth minute, US captain Carlos Bocanegra set the tone of the action with a brute full-body tackle on Alberto Medina, for which the former Chicago Fire stopper would receive a yellow card. From then on, both teams seemed to pick up in intensity, the action spreading both ways.

Landon Donovan carved out the first real chance of the match after tricking his way past Barcelona defender Rafa Márquez to send a driven cross in for teammate DaMarcus Beasley. The PSV Eindhoven winger's first touch pushed the ball ahead for a delicate scoop try, but Mexico keeper Oswaldo Sánchez was able to stop the shot with a wave of his hand.

Medina, who had earlier found himself the victim, found himself in the book for a professional foul on Beasley only a minute later.

As the action developed, both teams carved out chances, with America's Tim Howard being called on to tip a Márquez header over the bar.

In the 26th minute, US left back Jonathan Bornstein used blistering pace to create a chance out of nothing, darting for 20 yard before blasting a right-footed effort at goal, but the Mexican-American former UCLA forward deceived the cheering crowd as his shot drifted into the left side netting.

Looking to reply, Castillo delicately wound his way through a sea of Americans to win a free kick in the 30th minute, but Stuttgart's Pavel Pardo could do no more than graze the US defensive wall from the ensuing set piece, with the ball rolling tamely out.

El Tri were dealt a blow when veteran striker Jared Borgetti was forced off injured in the 36th minute. The former Bolton Wanderers hit man landed awkwardly in chasing down Bocanegra's run out of defense, and Stuttgart transfer target Omar Bravo headed on in his place.

As the half neared its end, the match was put into a pressure cooker, with keeper Sanchez coming up very big to deny Clint Dempsey in the 40th minute before Guardado sealed the game's first lead four minutes later in directing Castillo's well-placed cross into the roof of the net.

The teams came out of the dressing room with the same zest and mettle as before, Ricardo Clark replacing veteran midfielder Pablo Mastroeni from the break. The US once again tried its luck through Dempsey right off of the break, but Sánchez was unwavering in his presence.

In the 50th minute, Castillo bolted a laser of a shot just over Howard's net, as the team in green tried to impose itself on a nervous American side, who were beginning to feel the pressures of the scoreline.

Five minutes later, out of nothing, Brian Ching found himself tripped in the box as he turned José Magallón, with the referee pointing firmly to the spot. After an obsessive routine of kissing his knuckles on bended knee, Donovan slotted home his 34th international goal from the resulting penalty kick, a figure that sets him level with Eric Wynalda on the US all-time top scorers list.

The largely Mexican crowd seemed stunned by the proceedings, but despite the shock, continued to find hope as the mercurial Guardado drifted his free kick hobbling just past Howard's far post.

In the 69th minute, the Mexico flank terror collided heads with Jonathan Spector, and the former Manchester United right back had to be replaced by Sheffield Wednesday star Frankie Simek for fear of concussion.

Not a minute later, Taylor Twellman, who came on for the frustrated Dempsey, used his weight to force Sanchez into conceding a corner. From the resulting Mexico clearance, Benny Feilhaber belted home a picture perfect one-timer much to the chagrin of a helpless Sánchez.

With Mexico now pressing for an equalizer, the game opened up, and Ching found himself in a lot of space up front once more  in the 76th minute, but ultimately saw his curled chip rebound off of the post after side-stepping his way through the defense.

As the game clock wound down into extras, the action heated up. Late substitute Adolfo Bautista profited from Castillo's tricky run-and-cross, only to be cruelly denied by the reactions of an ever-sharp Howard.

After Donovan raced the length of the field on a two-man breakaway and dished over at the last minute, Beasley spurned a glorious chance to seal the deal by sending his open net opportunity for denial by the crossbar.

Finally, Omar Bravo was denied a penalty claim when Onyewu got handsy on a lofted ball into the area. Tempers boiled as the ref blew the final whistle, signaling a Gold Cup title repeat for the hosts.

Scoring
MEX - Andrés Guardado (Nery Castillo) 44'
USA - Landon Donovan (PK) 62'
USA - Benny Feilhaber 73'

Line-ups
USA - Tim Howard; Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector (Frank Simek 73'), DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber, Pablo Mastroeni (Ricardo Clark 46'), Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey (Taylor Twellman 69'), Brian Ching

MEX - Oswaldo Sánchez, José Magallón, Rafael Márquez, Ricardo Osorio, Carlos Salcido, Andrés Guardado, Jaime Lozano (Adolfo Bautista 81'), Alberto Medina (Cuauhtemoc Blanco 78'), Pavel Pardo, Nery Alberto Castillo, Jared Borgetti (Omar Bravo 40')