USA: Kings of Kingston with 2-1 win in Jamaica

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Brad Evans boosts U.S. in Jamaica

Brad Evans saved the United States from another deflating World Cup qualifier on the road.

Jermaine Beckford tied the score in the 89th minute as the American defense again stumbled on a restart. But Evans scored an unlikely goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, giving the U.S. a thrilling 2-1 win over Jamaica at Kingston on Friday night that solidified the Americans' chances of qualifying for next year's World Cup.

"It was a totally blind shot," Evans said. "The only thing in my mind was turn and shoot. That was it."

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[Zeppo]

At an unknown time in an unfamiliar place, Brad Evans came up big

He didn't even know how much time was left in the game. Fifteen minutes? Ten? Two? There are no clocks showing the running time of the game in The Office, Jamaica's national stadium, and Brad Evans found the confusion, the not-knowing, entirely disorienting as he played in the U.S.'s World Cup qualifier here on Friday night.

"The most difficult part of playing here is there's no clock, so you have no idea what time in the game it is," Evans explained. "There are certain moments in games where you look up and say, 'All right, 10 minutes: Let's get through this.' Every time I asked the ref how much time there was, he wouldn't even talk to me. He'd just run away. So we had no idea."

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Klinsmann: World Cup qualifiers always come down to the wire

A late defensive lapse nearly cost the US national team. But Brad Evans's stoppage-time winner rescued the day, earning the Americans a 2-1 win over Jamaica in World Cup qualifying here on Friday night.

“Coming away with three points was our goal and we achieved our goal,” USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said after the match. “We didn't plan it that way, conceding a goal in the last minute, in stoppage time, and scoring another one. But that's what those games are all about. Those are always down to the wire."

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Klinsmann: Belief in winning is "a culture you've got to develop"

In the countdown to Friday night's World Cup qualifier against the host Reggae Boyz at the Jamaica National Stadium, U.S. Soccer asked its Twitter followers to pick a Bob Marley song that best described the occasion.

“Redemption Song” might seem appropriate given the late heroics that pushed the Yanks to a 2-1 win, their first-ever qualifying victory on the island and a suitable riposte to last September's stunning loss here.

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