THE CANADIAN PRESS

PHILADELPHIA -- Once again, Canada is leaving the Gold Cup with a bad taste in its mouth.

The Canadians were beaten 1-0 on Saturday by Honduras, the victims of a controversial penalty call in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF men's soccer championship at Lincoln Financial Field.

In 2007, the Canadians exited after a 2-1 semifinal loss to the Americans when a tying goal by Atiba Hutchinson in stoppage time was ruled offside.

This time the drama came in the 36th minute when Paul Stalteri was penalized for apparently interfering with Honduran captain Walter Martinez as he attempted a bicycle kick near the Canadian goal. Defender Dejan Jakovic failed to clear a long ball into the penalty area and the ball deflected over to Martinez whose acrobatic kick went wide.

Replays seemed to indicate Martinez had a handful of Stalteri's sweater but referee Joel Aguilar from El Salvador saw it the other way. The Canadian team felt the Aguilar reached for his whistle before realizing that the Honduran striker was falling in trying for a bicycle kick rather than being dragged down.

"I was really disappointed with the officiating, with this particular game. If I had a chance to make a tackle on this ref, I wouldn't even think twice," said a disgusted midfielder Julian de Guzman.

"It's pretty obvious that would be bad business for CONCACAF if Canada was to make it to the finals or semifinals. I mean we don't bring in the crowds that CONCACAF would like," he added.

A disbelieving Stalteri was booked on the play and Martinez drilled the penalty home.

"From the bench it looked a phantom call, very harsh call," interim Canadian coach Stephen Hart said after the game. "But I haven't had a chance to see it (on replay) to be honest."

It had been fairly even up to that point, with Canada pressing and the Hondurans trying to hit back on the counter.

"I think a lot of them feel a little bit hard done (by)," Hart said of his players. "To lose a game really on something that is not in your control is always heart-breaking.

"We lost our concentration because of that call in the first half. But they can keep their heads high because the way they played in the second half, on another day they could have easily got the result."

But the pill was harder to swallow in the wake of the 2007 tournament exit.

"The same thing happens over and over," said Hutchinson. "I thought it was a horrible call from the ref. I think if he looks it himself, he should be ashamed. That's all I can say."

"It seems to be one-sided when it comes to the calls that we're not getting and the calls that they've been getting," said goalie Greg Sutton. "It's frustrating because you work hard and then it's something that's basically out of your hands that costs you the game. That's not the way these games should finish."

Said Hart: "That's the general feeling in the dressing room but I'm not going to use the referees as an excuse. We didn't score and we had the opportunities to do that."

Honduras will play the United States in the semifinals in Chicago on Thursday. The U.S. beat Panama 2-1 Saturday night to advance.

The Hondurans had to survive a furious Canadian charge in the final minutes.

Defender Kevin McKenna, who moved up front to bolster the attack in the dying minutes, almost threw Canada a lifeline in the 85 minute when his header beat the goalie but thumped off the post.

The game was competitive and Canada had its share of scoring chances but was unable to convert. Striker Ali Gerba, who had two of Canada's four goals at the tournament, was kept under control by the Hondurans.

The Canadians came into the game as Group A winner with a 2-0-1 record, having beaten Jamaica and El Salvador 1-0 and tied Costa Rica 2-2.

The Hondurans, runners-up to the U.S. in Group B, were 2-1-0, beating Haiti 1-0, Grenada 4-0 and losing to the U.S. 2-0.

Both teams were missing some star power. Honduras's absentees included midfielders Amado Guevara (Toronto FC) and Wilson Palacios (Tottenham) and strikers David Suazo (Inter Milan) and Carlos Pavon (Club Necaxa). Canada was without midfielder star Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC). Guevara and De Rosario both played in Toronto FC's home 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo earlier Saturday, with De Rosario scoring.

Honduras is ranked 39th in the world, compared to 92nd for Canada. The Central Americans beat Canada 2-1 and 3-1 in World Cup qualifying play to move on to the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying in the region where they currently stand third.

Martinez looked in vain for a penalty in the second minute as he burst into the penalty area. Stalteri appeared to make slight contact with his hand to the shoulder which Martinez made the most of. The referee was not impressed.

Martinez shot high and wide in the 17th minute on the counter-attack after Canada lost possession in midfield.

Honduran 'keeper Donis Escober made a good save in the 22nd, stopping a low shot from Hutchinson after a nice passing play by Gerba and Patrice Bernier. Sutton was sharp for Canada in the 25th minute, coming out swiftly to gather a nice through ball from Carlos Palacios before it got to an onrushing Marvin Chavez.

Mike Klukowski was wide with a swerving shot from distance in the 48th minute before Will Johnson's lob from short range was scooped up by Escober in the 50th as the game began to open up.

Josh Simpson's header forced a diving save from Escober in the 56th minute. The Canadian paid for the scoring chance with a painful clash of heads but kept playing.

Sutton stopped a Honduran chance in the 58th, beating an attacker to the ball in the penalty area.

The Canadians began to buzz midway through the second half with Simpson making some headway down the left-hand side. Johnson was wide with an 67th-minute header off a Klukowski cross.

Hutchinson's header, also from a Klukowski delivery, was just high in the 71st minute. Klukowski delivered another fine cross in the 80th minute only to see substitute Simeon Jackson head it off target.

The Hondurans did their bit to kill off the clock late in the game, with several players requiring treatment. The referee added five minutes of stoppage time as a result. Sutton moved into an attacking role for a corner as time wound down.

Stalteri, 31, made his 76th career start, tying the Canadian record held Randy Samuel and Mark Watson. It marked Stalteri's 77th cap in all, third behind Watson (78) and Samuel (82).

The CONCACAF championship covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. Canada reached the final four in 2000, 2002 and 2007, winning the Gold Cup in 2000.