French Guiana celebrate a goal against St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Concacaf
Nicaragua continued its winning streak as the 2023–24 Concacaf Nations League resumed with four encounters in League B on Friday.
Nicaragua and Dominican Republic were victorious in Group B as the former extended their lead atop the standing and maintained the charge toward promotion. Montserrat and Barbados trail in the group and look to avoid contending for relegation.
In Group C, St Vincent and the Grenadines was halted by French Guiana while Bermuda won at Belize. Vincy Heat remain in pole position due to its September victories and looks to defend that standing.
Montserrat vs. Nicaragua
Nicaragua defeated Montserrat by a scoreline of 3-0 at the Wildey Astro Turf Stadium in Barbados.
Juan Luis Perez opened the scoring in the fifth with a header to convert on an early corner kick opportunity.
Goalkeeper Corrin Brooks saved an attempt from Juan Barrera in the 31st to keep the deficit to a minimal difference as Nicaragua were pushing for more.
Ariagner Smith broke free in attack and nearly extended the lead in the 37th but Brooks was there for another save as both teams went tied to the break.
Harold Medina got the second for Nicaragua in the 72nd with a shot at the top of the arc.
Jacob Montes then added a third in the 90+4 to seal the three points for the group leader.
St Vincent and the Grenadines vs. French Guiana
French Guiana came away with a 4-1 victory against St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown.
Thomas Nemouthe struck in the seventh for the visitors with a left-footed shot from the right side of the box.
Arnold Abelinti extended the lead in the 11th with a right-footed hit from the penalty spot. The opportunity came from a handball into the box by defender Nigell Charles.
Jahvin Sutherland took one back for the home side in the 31st as a give-and-go off a corner kick made way for the defender to head in the ball inside the box.
Loic Baal struck again for French Guiana in the 42nd as the visitors retook a two-goal lead before halftime.
Jules Haabo iced the result with a strike in the 81st as a jubilant French Guiana team picked up its first three points of the campaign.
Barbados vs. Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic won 5-0 over Barbados at the Wildey Astro Turf Stadium in Barbados.
Dorny Romero struck in the seventh to cap off an elaborate play off a corner kick opportunity for the visiting side.
Edarlyn Reyes extended the lead in the 21st with a left-footed shot across goal on a counterattack.
Another free kick opportunity in the 45th made way for a third Dominican Republic goal by forcing an own goal from Ramon Griffith.
Heinz Morschel scored in the 57th with a rocket from the top of the box to get his first of the tournament.
Andre Applewhaite of Barbados was ejected in the 88th after a late tackle earned him a second yellow card. Riki Alba added a fifth in the ensuing free kick opportunity as the Dominican Republic earned its second victory of the tournament.
Belize vs. Bermuda
Bermuda took a 1-0 win against Belize at the FFB Stadium in Belmopan, Belize in the first-ever encounter between the two nations.
Kane Crichlow scored the opening goal in the 18th on a long-range attempt from midfield.
Eldon Reneau looked to have the equalizer in the 30th, but Bermuda goalkeeper Dale Eve blocked the shot. Nahjib Guerra then tried to get the tie for the hosts in the 45+1 but Eve was there for the save.
Jai Bean attempted in the 50th with a long-range shot. Meanwhile, Belize tried to go to its reinforcements on the bench as Horace Avila got on target in the 55th, forcing a save from Eve.
Belize goalkeeper Charles Tillett and Dale Eve both had important stops, as no goal would be scored for the remainder of the match.
Eve ended the day with four saves and the cleans sheet as Bermuda took its first win of the season.
Caribbean teams miss out on men's, women's 4x400m finals; get second shot at Olympic qualifcation on Sunday
There was no fortune for Caribbean countries at the backend of Saturday’s first day of the World Athletics Relays, as the various teams failed to progress in the men’s and women’s 4x400m events at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.
In the female qualifiers, Jamaica’s quartet of Charokee Young, Ashley Williams, Junelle Bromfield, and Roneisha McGregor placed third in heat three in 3:29.03, behind Poland and France, who clocked 3:27.11 and 3:28.06.
Earlier, Cuba (3:31.56) and Dominican Republic (3:40.93) placed third and seventh, respectively, in heat two.
Ireland headlined the team’s that progressed, as they clocked a National Record 3:24.38 in qualifying. United States (3:24.76), Great Britain (3:24.89), Italy (3:26.28), Norway (3:26.89), Poland (3:27.11), and Canada (3:27.17), also booked their spots in the final, as well as for this summer’s Paris Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, it was more of the same on the male side of action, as Trinidad and Tobago’s quartet of Asa Guevara, Timothy Frederick, Shakeem McKay, and Jereem Richards, clocking 3:04.15 for third in heat one, where Japan (3:00.98) and Germany (3:01.25) secured the coveted spots.
United States initially won the heat, but they were later disqualified for an infringement.
Jamaica’s Malik James-King, Zandrion Barnes, Assinie Wilson, and Demish Gaye, clocked 3:02.46 for third, behind Belgium (3:00.09) and Nigeria (3:01.70). Guyana (3:09.91) was eighth in that heat.
The Bahamas (3:07.45) placed sixth in heat three, which was won by Italy (3:01.68), ahead of the fast-finishing Great Britain (3:02.10).
In the last heat, Barbados (3:03.72) and Dominican Republic (3:08.15), placed third and sixth, respectively, as Botswana (2:59.73) and South Africa (2:59.76) took the top spots.
Despite missing out on this occasion, the teams will have another shot at Olympic qualification in Round 2 action on Sunday.
Seattle Sounders v LA Galaxy: Sluggish starts frustrating Vanney
LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney has urged his team to start sharply when they take on the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.
The Galaxy went down 2-0 to Austin FC last time out, and will look to get back to winning ways when they head up the West Coast to face the Sounders, who they beat 1-0 in March.
Vanney’s side found themselves 2-0 down after just 19 minutes against Austin, though, and the Galaxy coach is growing increasingly frustrated with his team’s sloppy starts.
In quotes reported by The Galactic Tribune, Vanney said: “We've got to do a better job of not starting slow and getting ourselves behind the game one and two goals because then it certainly incentivises the opposition to sit a little bit lower and really kind of protect the face of the goal.”
Vanney also pointed out that sluggishness in the final third is proving equally as costly.
He added: “The speed of our final actions when we are in possession and we do find those moments that we need to break, with the timing of things, needs to be sharper. I feel like we weren't so sharp on that side of things so that we can get to the necessary spots.”
For experienced defender Maya Yoshida, there were few excuses after the Austin loss.
“We were not enough. I don't deserve anything for my performance,” he said. “We deserved to lose. We are very disappointed. We have to learn from this defeat.”
The Galaxy went into the weekend second in the Western Conference, 10 places and nine points above the Sounders.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz
Ruidiaz and team-mate Jordan Morris have each scored nine goals against the Galaxy in their MLS careers. Since 2016, the only players with more goals against a single opponent are Carlos Vela (10 vs. Galaxy), Jeremy Ebobisse (10 vs. Galaxy) and Kei Kamara (10 vs. Montreal).
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig had a fine campaign last year and the former Barcelona midfielder has picked up where he left off, scoring three goals and creating two more so far this season.
MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN
The Galaxy’s loss to Austin ended a run of 18 straight matches with at least one goal in all competitions, scoring 41 total times during that run (2.3 goals per match). It was the Galaxy’s longest run of games with a goal in all competitions since a 21-match run in 2014.
The Sounders won their second match of the season on Tuesday, a 3-2 victory in Philadelphia. Seattle have scored eight goals in their two wins this year (5-0 vs. CF Montreal in April) and six goals in their other eight matches (D3 L5).
The Galaxy beat Seattle at home on March 30, ending an 11-match MLS winless run against the Sounders (D4 L7). The Galaxy last won consecutive MLS matches against Seattle in April-August 2015.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Seattle Sounders – 53.9%
LA Galaxy – 20.1%
Draw – 26%
Paulino produces spirited anchor leg to help Dominican Republic book spot in Mixed 4x400m final at World Athletics Relays
Reigning World 400m champion Marileidy Paulino produced a special anchor leg to help the Dominican Republic book their spot in the final of the Mixed 4x400m relay on day one of the World Athletics Relays at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau on Saturday.
Paulino got the baton down the field and produced a 48.93 split on her anchor leg to move her country up to second (3:14.39) and secure a spot in Saturday’s final alongside the Netherlands who won the heat in 3:12.16.
Both teams also secured their spots in the field at the Olympics in Paris later this year.
Jamaica (Roshawn Clarke, Leah Anderson, Rusheen McDonald, Janieve Russell) ran 3:14.83 and hosts the Bahamas (Alonzo Russell, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Steven Gardiner, Shania Adderley) ran 3:14.86 but failed to advance to the final after finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Both teams will get another opportunity to make it to Paris in the second round of Olympic qualifying on Sunday.
USA (3:11.52), Ireland (3:12.50), Belgium (3:13.18) Poland (3:13.53), Nigeria (3:13.79) and France (3:14.71) make up the eight teams to advance to the final.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
