United States 4, Barbados 0

WATERFORD, Barbados (AP) _ Just 27 minutes from possible World Cup elimination, the United States finally broke through. <br><br>Clint Mathis scored the go-ahead goal and Earnie Stewart, Cobi Jones and

Wednesday, November 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WATERFORD, Barbados (AP) _ Just 27 minutes from possible World Cup elimination, the United States finally broke through.

Clint Mathis scored the go-ahead goal and Earnie Stewart, Cobi Jones and Ante Razov tacked on scores as the United States beat Barbados 4-0 Wednesday and advanced to next year's regional finals of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

``You've got to give a lot of credit to Barbados,'' Mathis said. ``We knew the conditions were going to be a little bit rough. We were able to fight back and keep our composure and get some goals.''

For nearly three-quarters of the game, the Americans flailed at their shots, missing chances and letting Barbados have breakaways that nearly put the U.S. team behind. The crowd of about 4,000 danced to calypso music and cheered, sensing the Bajan Rockets, ranked just 102nd in the world, had the chance to upset the United States, ranked 18th.

``For a while, it seemed like we couldn't get a goal,'' said U.S. goalkeeper Tony Meola, playing his first qualifier since 1989.

Five minutes into the second half, Barbados nearly scored, but Meola managed to deflect a hard shot from Llewellyn Riley. The rebound hit the knee of defender Carlos Llamosa, then hit the crossbar and bounced away.

``Maybe the play of the game is Meola's save,'' U.S. coach Bruce Arena said.

The Americans, who beat Barbados 7-0 in August at Foxboro, Mass., would have been eliminated if they had failed to win because Guatemala beat Costa Rica 2-1 in a game played simultaneously.

Chris Klein appeared to put the Americans (3-1-2) in front in the 58th minute when he put in a rebound of a Moore shot, but referee Noel Bynoe of Trinidad and Tobago called Moore offsides. That was just about the time the U.S. bench learned Guatemala has taken a 1-0 lead.

``It could be one of those days,'' Arena said to himself.

Moore, who scored twice in the win at Foxboro, picked up a pass from Chris Armas in the corner of the field a few minutes later, ran down the end line and passed the ball back to Mathis, who had a virtually open net and scored from about six yards out.

``I just got the ball to Joe and let him do all the work and just tried to stand there,'' Mathis said. ``He just hit me with the ball _ I didn't even shoot it.''

Ten minutes later, Stewart seemed to surprise the defense, taking a 17-yard shot that beat goalkeeper Horace Stoute and went into the far upper corner of the net.

Jones, who came in as a substitute early in the second half, scored off a pass from Mathis in the 77th minute. Razov added the last goal in the final minute.

``We thought we could get a goal early,'' Barbados coach Horace ``Tobacco'' Beckles said. ``It really did just come down to fitness. We had players who weren't able to play the full game.

The United States, which has shut out five straight opponents for the first time, advances to next year's finals of qualifying in the North and Central American and Caribbean region along with Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago.

Costa Rica and Guatemala (3-2-1) were even on all tiebreakers and must play a one-game playoff to fill out the field. The top three teams in the finals advance to the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea.

A rainbow appeared across Barbados National Stadium 10 minutes before the game began. It quickly turned into a cool and windy afternoon.

Both teams had problems with the slippery, bumpy field, which created numerous bad bounces and breakaways.

Mathis had the best U.S. chance in the first half, hitting the right post in the 36th minute off a pass from Moore.

Three minutes later, from just six yards out, Mathis took a hard shot that appeared to hit Stoute flush in the face. The rebound went to Moore, but he kicked it wide.

Barbados nearly got a goal in the 41st minutes when Matthew Joseph went downfield on a breakaway. Ryan Lucas was open, with only Meola to beat, but the pass was just ahead of him.