COLUMBUS, Ohio—The United States and Mexico played to a scoreless first half here where the most exciting note from the first half was the vibrancy of the crowd.

The match started out at a quick pace but settled into a slower affair with both teams seeming to tire as the whistle neared.

Jurgen Klinsmann stressed the need for a better opening 10 minutes than the opening performance against Costa Rica that saw the Ticos score two goals early. He got it, but barely. Mexico controlled the run of play, winning two corner kicks and troubling the U.S. down the left side. Gio dos Santos took a pass from Chaco Giminez and crossed it into the box where it found not a Mexico teammate but DaMarcus Beasley. Luckily for the Stars and Stripes, goalkeeper Tim Howard showed great awareness to keep that and the other Mexico chances out. After a Fernando Arce free kick was blasted wide, Howard came out of his box and exhorted his defenders to keep calm.

Center back Omar Gonzalez did just that, knocking a pass away from Chicharito when it looked as though the Manchester United man had a sure breakaway in the 19th minute. He couldn't clear it completely and DaMarcus Beasley had to pick a player he thought the ball would fall to. He picked incorrectly, but Howard was again there to save the day. Alejandro Bedoya, a surprise starter who had a decent half, started the counter attack and found Landon Donovan across the pitch. Donovan drove into the box but was unable to muster a dangerous ball.

Mexico too continued finding opportunities. Bedoya wasn't as smooth with a tackle in the 20th minute leading to a free kick that Mexico sent ust over Howard bar. But after that the Americans looked to be much more comfortable in front of the raucous supporters sections, which really seemed to encompass the entire stadium. There was the slick bit of play from Eddie Johnson that freed Clint Dempsey outside the 18. There was a stretch of strong defending that saw Chicharito forced to take a shot from 30-yards out. There was Jermaine Jones playing Gio dos Santos on the box.

The best chance of the first half for the U.S. came in the 30th minute when Tim Howard collected a Mexico clearance and rolled it to Clarence Goodson. Goodson moved to his center back partner Gonzalez who was encouraged by Jermaine Jones to go forward. Gonzalez pushed past the halfway line and gave the ball to an attacking Fabian Johnson. His cross was deflected out of play for a corner that Landon Donovan hit. Eddie Johnson came from the top of the box and skied to hit it, but Jesus Corona moved to his right to save the strong header.

The pace began to slow as the whistle drew near, something seen in the 39th minute when the ball completely stopped rolling for several second while El Tri played it around the back line. The U.S. had a very similar stretch in the 42nd minute. Finally, Donovan charged in and played a few close passes. Jones ended up finding Fabian Johnson on the wing but left Johnson with some work to do. The German-American did it with a tightrope act to keep the ball but couldn't bring it back.

There were very nearly some fireworks at the end of the half when Gio dos Santos eased through the U.S. defense and fired a shot in from the right side. Howard grabbed it and almost seemed to double clutch the ball as he snatched it out of the air. The first yellow card of the match was well-earned by Alejandro Bedoya who chopped down Giminez on a breakaway. The free kick was flicked on but Howard extended to his left and hit the ball out of play.

In a bizarre twist, Clint Dempsey drew a penalty kick in stoppage time, and it looked for the world like the U.S. would win 3-0. But Dempsey, who took the PK, missed the target badly. His miss preserved the 2-0 score.

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