GK blunder hands US 1-1 draw

RUSTENBURG, South Africa (AP):

The United States held England to a 1-1 draw in World Cup Group C opener yesterday, with a stunning blunder by English goalkeeper Robert Green costing his team victory.

An apparently harmless 25-yard left-foot shot from Clint Dempsey in the 40th minute went straight at Green, but the ball bounced off his right glove and trickled over the line for an equaliser.

"It's one of those that you see and people say, 'How come that never happens to me'," Dempsey said. "Finally, it's a goal that probably the keeper should have made a save on. They all count the same when they go in."

England captain Steven Gerrard had given England the lead in the fourth, charging into the area and shooting with the outside of his foot past Tim Howard for his 17th international goal.

England, pursuing their first World Cup title since 1966, created more chances but the Americans held firm under pressure with a string of saves from Howard, who was voted Player of the Match.

"It was a difficult game," Gerrard said. "I think the important thing in the first game is not to lose."

Green's error brought looks of dismay from English fans, who were a majority in the sell-out crowd of more than 38,000 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

But England manager Fabio Capello refused to censure his goalkeeper, publicly at least.

"He made one mistake but in the second half he also made a good save," Capello told a news conference. "This is football. The most important thing is the score at the end of the game."

Gerrard saw Green's error as the game's turning point.

"Unfortunately, we've let a poor goal in and we couldn't go on and get the winner," he said. "The goal shocked us a bit. ... It took us a while to get over it."

"Our first game is still about getting something, but when you go behind early, I thought the response was good," US coach Bob Bradley said. "I think after the goal, we started to put some plays together and built up confidence."

Dempsey became only the second American to score in two World Cups. He also scored in the 2006 tournament.

Both countries can still claim one of the group's top two places and advance to the next round. The other two teams in the group, Algeria and Slovenia, play today. Both are regarded as weaker teams than England or the US

Line-ups

England: Robert Green, Glen Johnson, John Terry, Ledley King (Jamie Carragher, 45), Ashley Cole, Aaron Lennon, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner (Shaun Wright-Phillips, 31), Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey (Peter Crouch, 79).

United States: Tim Howard, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore (Stuart Holden, 86), Robbie Findley (Edson Buddle, 77).