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GUATEMALA CITY - First-half goals by Bobby Wood, Joe Gyau and Conor Doyle sparked the United States to a 4-0 victory over Suriname on Tuesday in the opening game for both at the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship.
The Americans, trying for an eighth consecutive trip to the U-20 World Cup, controlled the match from the start, hitting the post twice in the opening 45 minutes in addition to jumping ahead 3-0. Kelyn Rowe added a second-half strike after Suriname had been reduced to 10 men, and Doyle hit the post again in the final six minutes.
The result avenged a U.S. defeat in their only other meeting with Suriname, a 1-0 victory by the Caribbean side in 1986.
Suriname, which was making only its fifth appearance in the CONCACAF finals and first since 1990, rarely had any possession in the American half and didn't manage a shot on goal in the match.
It took the United States more than 10 minutes to mount a sustained attack, but once established, was able to almost exclusively keep possession in the Suriname half.
The Americans went ahead in the 19th minute when Greg Garza's free kick from the right side was headed on by Doyle at the edge of the six, and Wood deflected in with his chest from three yards.
Sebastian Lletget followed two minutes later with a shot off the right post and a minute later Rowe hit the crossbar a minute later before Gyau doubled the U.S. advantage in the 29th.
Doyle benefitted from a giveaway at the top of the Suriname defensive third and played the ball laterally to Lletget, who sent the ball forward to Gyau.
Gyau, the son of former international Philip Gyau - who played six times for the United States, ran onto the ball at the top of the area, turned inside and finished with a right-footed effort pst goalkeeper Claidel Kohinor inside the right post.
The United States added further to its lead eight minutes later when Doyle, standing at the back post, headed down Rowe's cross. Kohinor leapt to his left to grab the ball, but lost control of it as he fell and allowed it to slip under him, dribbling across the line before defender Albert Nibte could clear it.
Suriname was defensive throughout, and was further hampered when second-half substitute Biorn Eduards was ejected in the 74th for a lunging, studs-up tackle on Garza.
Six minutes later, Rowe completed the scoring, taking a ball from Doyle, dribbing across the top of the area and unleashing a low, right-footed drive that beat Kohinor inside the near post.
Suriname will next play Wednesday against Panama while the Americans finish Group B schedule Saturday against "Los Canaleros".
