Haiti kicked off the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims with a commanding 6-1 victory over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Haiti were in control from the start and nearly broke the deadlock in the 21st minute, but Saint Vincent and The Grenadines GK Nigell Charles made a diving save to his right to deny Carnejy Antoine.
The 1-0 breakthrough would come soon enough, though, with Duckens Nazon stroking home a penalty in the 26th minute after Derrick Etienne Jr. was brought down in the area.
The first goal loosened up the Haitian attack and Frantzdy Pierrot doubled the advantage to 2-0 in the 33rd minute with a strong header off a deflection from the Vincy Heat defense.
The Haitian attack kept coming in waves and another penalty call saw Etienne Jr. convert a spot-kick in the 37th to extend the lead to 3-0.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines did not get their heads down and Kyle Edwards was able to get on the end of a free-kick and touch past Haiti GK Josue Duverger before slotting into the net to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the 42nd minute. Edwards’ goal was the first-ever for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in three games at the Gold Cup.
Some individual magic from Nazon in the 59th yielded the fourth goal for Haiti, as the veteran forward gathered a pass, made a move to elude a defender, and fired in to make it 4-1 to Haiti. It was Nazon´s sixth goal in 10 Gold Cup games.
Haiti were keen to not extend Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a lifeline and continued to pressure, rounding out the 6-1 triumph via an own goal in the 72nd and an Antoine finish in the 90th.
Bermuda rolled into the Second Round of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims thanks in part to a Nahki Wells hat trick in an 8-1 victory over Barbados on Friday night at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
With the result, Bermuda advance to face Haiti in the Second Round of the Prelims with a berth in the 2021 Gold Cup group stage at stake on Tuesday. It will also serve as a rematch of their 2019 Gold Cup group stage match won by Haiti, 2-1.
The 8-1 scoreline also tied a Gold Cup record for most goals in a match (9).
It was a dream start for Bermuda, who raced out to a 1-0 lead just 17 seconds into the match when Wells turned a Zeiko Lewis cross into the net, a call that was confirmed by VAR.
The Wells goal also made some history, as it marked the fastest goal in Gold Cup history.
Bermuda were hungry for more and a hard hit from Lewis was cleverly back-heeled by Wells, leaving Barbados GK Liam Brathwaite flat-footed, to give Bermuda a 2-0 lead in the 14’.
The Bermuda attack was rolling and Reggie Lambe stretched the lead to 3-0 in the 29’ with an excellent left-footed finish.
Captain Dante Leverock was next to get into the act for Bermuda, as he smashed a header into net for a 4-0 lead.
Despite the deficit, Barbados kept plugging away and they were handsomely rewarded in the 45+1 minute when Hadan Holligan banked in a right-footed shot off the post to cut the gap to 4-1.
Bermuda halted any Barbados momentum and restored their four-goal advantage when a deep cross resulted in an own goal and a 5-1 lead in the 60th minute.
The Gombey Warriors were eager to add more and it became 6-1 in the 66’ with Kane Crichlow’s right-footed finish, followed a minute later in the 67th by Lewis making it 7-1 with a left-footed shot.
Wells then completed the 8-1 scoreline for Bermuda in the 87th when he converted from the penalty spot to nail down his hat-trick.
Trinidad and Tobago are a step closer to a return to the Concacaf Gold Cup after topping Montserrat 6-1 in the First Round of the 2021 Gold Cup Prelims on Friday night at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The win sends Trinidad and Tobago to the Second Round, where they will face the winner of Saturday’s Cuba-French Guiana contest.
The first goal arrived in the 21st minute through Trinidad and Tobago’s Kevin Molino from the penalty spot after a foul on DF Aubrey David in the Montserrat area. Molino stepped up and coolly converted from the spot to hand the Soca Warriors a 1-0 advantage.
Montserrat looked to respond but instead, it was 2-0 to Trinidad and Tobago in the 35th when Marcus Joseph caught Montserrat GK Corrin Brooks off his line and flighted in a shot from 40 yards out for the goal.
Trinidad and Tobago then extended the lead to 3-0 in the 45+2’minute when Ryan Telfer got loose behind the Montserrat defense and hammered in a right-footed shot.
Montserrat came out with plenty of fight to start the second half and pulled a goal back for 3-1 in the 55th minute when Lyle Taylor headed in after Spencer Weir’s shot deflected off the crossbar.
But Trinidad and Tobago restored the sizeable advantage two minutes later in the 57th minute when Judah Garcia gathered in a long ball and finished to make it 4-1.
Momentum was clearly on the side of the Soca Warriors and Reon Moore stretched the lead to 5-1 in the 68’ with a right-footed finish.
The night was then punctuated by Moore tacking on another in the 82’ to round out the 6-1 scoreline.
West Indies veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo insists he still has a lot of love left for the game of cricket and a lot to give to the team heading into the T20 World Cup.
On Thursday, in the fourth T20 international against South Africa, Bravo showed he had plenty of pep left in his step with a handy 4 for 19 at an economy rate of 4.75. The figure represented the first four-wicket haul for the bowler since 2015 and was crucial in the team pulling level in the series. Bravo, however, did not represent the West Indies for a four-year period.
His re-selection, along with the likes of other senior players Chris Gayle and fast bowler Fidel Edwards, has been an issue for some fans who are convinced the team should focus on younger talent. The player is confident, however, that he still has more to give and is as passionate about the game at 37-years-old, as he ever was.
“The most important thing is the love for the game remains the same as when I was a kid. I still have a lot of passion, I still have a lot to offer,” Bravo said, following the game.
“I enjoy working with the younger players now and I see myself more as a player that tries to mentor the group. I try to improve their thinking, they all have the skills, it’s just to get the smarts a little sharper,” he added.
“I’m enjoying the game and I’m happy to be back representing the West Indies again after a long break. The joy and the passion are still there, we know what the end goal is but right now it’s a process.”
Austin ended a run of eight matches without victory by crushing Portland Timbers 4-1 in MLS.
Not since May 1 had Austin won a game but that changed on Thursday thanks to Jon Gallagher, Diego Fagundez, Alexander Ring and Hector Jimenez.
Austin – who have Hollywood star Matt McConaughey as part of their ownership group – also celebrated their first victory at Q2 Stadium.
Josh Wolff's Austin had become the third team in MLS history to fail to score in the first two home matches in franchise history after the New York Red Bulls (then-MetroStars) in 1996 and the Miami Fusion in 1998 – New York's first home goal came in the 72nd minute of their third home match (Cle Kooiman own goal), while Miami's was scored in the 27th minute of their third home match by Jerry Tamashiro.
Austin opened their account via Gallagher in the 28th minute in front of a capacity crowd on Thursday before star team-mate Fagundez doubled the lead five minutes later.
The Timbers – who had not won any of their last three away matches against MLS expansion teams (D1 L2), dating back to April 2015 – pulled a goal back via Jeremy Ebobisse in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time.
That was as good as it got for Portland, however, as quick-fire goals from Ring and Jimenez inside the final 13 minutes sealed maximum points.
Austin are ninth in the Western Conference, level on points with seventh-placed Portland – who occupy the final play-off spot.
West Indies made it 2-2 in the five-match Twenty20 series against South Africa on Thursday, captain Kieron Pollard top-scoring with 51 and Dwayne Bravo taking four wickets.
The Windies posted 167-6 and successfully defended the total to ensure everything is still left to play for in Saturday's final match in the T20 series.
South Africa, who last won a T20 series in March 2019 against Sri Lanka, have not successfully chased a target above 160 since February 2018 when they beat India.
West Indies enjoyed a superb opening over, plundering 20 from the bowling of Aiden Markram – their most in the first over of a T20 and the most by any team batting first in this format.
South Africa responded well to that early setback, however, taking six wickets in the next 15 overs, with George Linde in particularly impressive form, the 29-year-old putting in the most economical performance of his T20 career, conceding just 16 runs in four overs.
The Proteas undermined their efforts in the closing stages as they conceded 66 runs in the final four overs.
Pollard and Fabian Allen scored six sixes in that period, while the former hit three in three balls off Kagiso Rabada, who bowled his most expensive T20 over.
The impressive Pollard brought up a sixth T20 half-century and his highest score in seven innings as Lungi Ngidi's (0-48) two death overs cost 30 runs.
Allen suffered what looked like a dislocated shoulder as he tried to cut off a Temba Bavuma sweep as South Africa attempted to start their chase strongly, with his overs made up for by Pollard and Andre Russell.
Quinton de Kock did his best to drive his team forward, the former captain scoring a second successive half-century (60) and a sixth T20 fifty in his last 15 matches, but no other South Africa batter scored more than 20.
Bravo rolls back the years
Bravo made light of Allen's absence with a superb display. He took the wickets of Linde, de Kock, Tabraiz Shamsi and Ngidi in 12 balls in the closing stages of the match to eventually finish with career-best figures of 4-19.
Rabada sums up Proteas' woes
South Africa's chances of victory collapsed during a dismal final four overs, with Kagiso Rabada particularly generous. His penultimate over of the innings proved to be the most expensive at 25 runs, while he did not complete a full quota of four overs for the first time in a T20 match since his debut in 2014.
Kristen McGregor was quite pleased with her performance at last weekend’s Puerto Rico Pro in the Bahamas where she finished in the top-six even though she was a bit perplexed as to the reason given why she didn’t place higher.
In the competition that is a Tier-3 qualifier for Olympia qualification, McGregor, who won the Miss Olympia Amateur in the Women’s Fitness Category in 2020, placed fourth behind Puerto Rico’s Jessica Reyes Padilla, Mexico’s Mayra Hernandez and Heather Dees of the USA.
“The competition was just like any other competition for me. I always go in with no expectations. I trained hard, I put in the work, I am ready, this is always my mindset going into any competition,” McGregor told Sportsmax.TV this week.
“I am quite pleased with my placement. Going up against 20 plus veteran females, who have either competed in Ms Olympia before, multiple times, placing fourth on my pro debut, amongst such calibre athletes, I am very pleased.”
She admitted, however, that she was caught off guard by the comments of one of the judges with whom she spoke afterwards about why she did not place higher.
“To be honest, I am not sure if surprised is the right word. I was more speechless, lost, confused when the head judge approached me backstage and complimented me on my “amazing physique, X-factor and shape but then said the only thing was I was a little too small, which lead me to ask, “What do you mean?”
“He explained, ‘You just need to get more muscle maturity and density because you are right on the money which will come with time, dieting and training’”.
She said she took very important lessons from the judge’s critique but is now more than ever before assured that she is on the right track in terms of dieting and training and that her structure and build are spot on.
“The areas I need to improve on are muscle maturity and size which will come through continued training and dieting,” she said. “But to get bigger for the next show now is all about increasing portion sizes and stepping up that training which my coaches are already over.”
As she continues on her journey to qualify for Ms Olympia, McGregor and her team have set their sights on the next Olympia Qualifying show, the IFBB Professional League Yamamoto Nutrition Cup Tampa-Pro-XIV National Qualifier at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Tampa, Florida on August 5th-7th, 2021.
She thanked Jamaica’s Sports Development Foundation (SDF) and Proven Wealth as well as Victoria Mutual for the sponsorship support they provided that enabled her to compete in the Bahamas last weekend as she continues on her quest to Ms Olympia.
A fully fit Leon Bailey has been included in Jamaica’s 23-man squad named today for the 2021 Gold Cup competition in the United States.
Jerome Waite, the assistant coach to the Jamaica senior football team is to be assigned to another national team following a decision of the Board of Directors of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).
Waite is to be replaced by Merron Gordon, a past assistant coach at the National Under 23 level and former Head Coach for the Senior women's team. Gordon will join the recently appointed Assistant Coach Paul Hall in this position. Both assistant coaches will join Head Coach Theodore Whitmore at the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.
There is no word on where Waite will end up.
The decision was taken to re-assign Waite at the quarterly board meeting held on Tuesday, June 29, after it approved a recommendation from the Technical and Development Committee (T&DC).
Coach Waite had previously served at the National Under 20 and Under 23 levels and a final decision on the re-assignment is to be recommended by the committee.
The JFF said the decision regarding Coach Waite's reassignment was a decision of the Board of Directors, the only legitimate body that can take that decision, and that Head Coach Whitmore was not involved in the decision.
Player of the match Shamilla Connell took three wickets and two wickets from Aaliyah Alleyne helped West Indies Women to a 10-run victory over Pakistan Women at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Wednesday.
Chasing 137 for victory after the West Indies made 136 for 6 from their 20 overs, Connell and Alleyne combined to restrict Pakistan to 126 for 6 despite an unbeaten 45 from Ayesha Naseem and 24 not out from Fatima Sana.
Together, the pair mounted an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 69 from 45 balls, rescuing Pakistan from a precarious 57-6.
Connell did the early damage bowling both openers, Javeria Rauf and Captain Javeria Khan for 5 and 7, respectively, with only 14 runs on the board. Hayley Matthews made it 23 for 3 when she dismissed Muneeba Ali for 9.
Connell took her third when she bowled Nida Dar for 9.
Alleyne then bowled Aliya Riaz for 8 and Iram Javid for 11 as Pakistan slipped further to 57-6 in the 13th over.
However, that would be the last of the success for the West Indies Women who toiled in vain while trying to break the partnership between Naseem who hit two fours and a six in her 33-ball knock.
At the other end, Sana proved just as difficult to dislodge as she scored her runs from 21 deliveries.
Connell returned 3-21 while Alleyne took 2-23.
Earlier, the West Indies got their total courtesy of an opening stand of 65 between Matthews and Deandra Dottin, who scored 32 and 31, respectively.
Both openers were dismissed in the space of two balls as the West Indies Women slipped from 65-0 to 67-2. Captain Stafanie Taylor went for 11 with the score at 93 and the scoring slowed.
Kyshona Knight scored 23, Chedean Knight, 14, and Kycia Knight 15, helping the West Indies closed on 136 for 6.
Dar was tight taking 2-15 and Sana took 2-32.
No athletes were able to reach Olympic qualifying standards in any events during the Barbados National Championships over the weekend. This was the final opportunity for Barbadian athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which are less than a month away.
Some of Barbados’ top athletes such as Sada Williams, Tristan Evelyn, and Johnathan Jones (who have already qualified) did not compete, but there were still a number of locally well-known athletes who turned out in hopes of making it to Tokyo.
One of the most anticipated showdowns was between national record-holder Kierre Beckles and overseas-based Hannah Connell in the women’s 100-metre hurdles. Connell was heading into the event with a season’s best of 13.07 seconds in comparison to Beckles’ 13.51 seconds. In the end, the veteran Beckles, who represented Barbados at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, came out victorious but fell short of the qualification standard after running a time of 13.51.
The biggest upset of the championships came in the men’s 100-metre finals when favourite Mario Burke was beaten by Kuron Griffith. Burke, who will be representing Barbados in Tokyo, ran a disappointing 10.39 seconds with a wind reading of -1.9. Despite winning the event, Griffith was not able to reach the qualifying standard, finishing in a time of 10.30 seconds. In the women’s 100-metres, Jovanna Gustave finished first in a time of 12.09 seconds, which is also outside of the qualifying standard.
There is no other opportunity for Barbadian athletes to meet the qualifying standard with the National Championships being the last sanctioned meet before the June 29th deadline for qualification. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will begin on July 23rd and run until August 8th.
West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran insists the team can have no excuses for losing the third T20 match against South Africa as they were in a strong position to claim a win.
South Africa won the third encounter between the teams by a single run to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series. At 96 for 3, at the halfway mark, chasing 168, the West Indies seemed well on the way to the target but were often stifled by Tabraiz Shamsi who turned in the most economical effort of his career (2 for 13 in four overs).
Even so, needing 44 runs off the last four overs, Andre Russell seemed set to deliver a win for the team when he smashed back-to-back sixes off Anrich Nortje but was dismissed later in the over after also being dropped.
Pooran, who made a pedestrian 26 for 28, and is really yet to fire for the series, smashed Lungi Ngidi over midwicket for six off the second ball of the 18th over but could not maintain that momentum and was dismissed by Nortje in a penultimate over that only cost 4 runs.
“I felt like South Africa bowled well, they bowled well in the middle and they bowled well in the last two overs of the game and I think that’s where they won the game,” Pooran said following the match.
“As a team, we are still building, we are still trying to bind as a team. I didn’t think it was too bad, in T20 games partnerships form, you lose wickets, but I felt like today was our game to win in all honesty,” he added.
“We had that partnership, I was there until the second to last over with Fabian and we should have found a way to win that game. No excuses.”
Jamaica international and Bayer Leverkusen wide man Leon Bailey has recovered from a toe injury and is fit to take part in the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup, which gets underway next week.
The 22-year-old winger had a strong season for the German outfit, overall, providing 15 goals and 10 assists during the team’s campaign. Overall Leverkusen finished 6th and in the European League places.
Bailey, however, suffered an injury, a broken toe, during the team’s penultimate game of the season against Werder Bremen a few weeks before the end of the season. Initially, there was concern that the player could have missed the tournament, but he recently concerned that he was fully recovered and eager to get back on the field for the country. He has since resumed training.
Bailey was named as part of a large preliminary squad, which has also included West Ham’s Michail Antonio and several other overseas-based players. The winger, who has represented the country eight times is also expected to play a crucial role in the country’s attempts to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. The CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers will resume in September.
South Africa moved 2-1 ahead in the five-match Twenty20 series against West Indies on Tuesday, Kagiso Rabada holding his nerve to clinch a one-run win in Grenada.
Quinton de Kock marked his 50th international appearance in the format by smashing 72 from 51 deliveries, helping the Proteas to post 167-8 - their highest total so far.
Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen contributed 23 and 32 respectively, yet South Africa lost a clatter of wickets in the closing stages.
Obed McCoy claimed two in the penultimate over as he finished with career-best figures of 4-22. There was also a run out to follow in the next, the last of five wickets to go down for the addition of just 20 runs across the final 18 deliveries.
Evin Lewis (27) and new opening partner Lendl Simmons (22) added 51 for the first wicket in West Indies' reply, yet for the second outing in a row they faltered in the face of high-class spin.
Having claimed 1-16 last time out, Tabraiz Shamsi seemingly turned the match in his team's favour by taking 2-13, Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer (17) the batsmen to depart to the left-arm slow bowler.
Andre Russell blasted 25 in a hurry but his departure at the end of an expensive Anrich Nortje over shifted a see-saw contest back in favour of South Africa. Left needing 15 off the last, West Indies came up just short despite a final-ball six from Fabian Allen.
Proteas set the pace thanks to De Kock
De Kock celebrated reaching a personal milestone with a brutal display of hitting, his 51-ball knock at the top of the order including five fours and two sixes. The wicketkeeper-batsman is in impressive form, having now scored 266 runs in his past five T20 innings away from home.
Call of duty needs a reboot
The West Indies have batted second in each of their past 10 T20I meetings with South Africa, winning the toss in all but one of those games. However, the strategic decision may need a rethink before the sides face each other again, as they have gone on to win on just four of those occasions.
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