West Indies Women finished the CG Insurance One Day International Series against Pakistan Women with a 3-2 series victory, despite losing the fifth and final match by 22 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern Method on Sunday.
After the frantic final minutes counted down, the split points left the Trinidad and Tobago squad, as well as Guatemala’s, eliminated. Despite the elimination, both teams can be proud of their effort.
After an injury during warmups, Trinidad and Tobago were forced to adjust their lineup, replacing defender Neveal Hackshaw with Jelani Peters.
In the 12th minute, T&T right back Alvin Jones rampaged up the field on a quick counterattack then crossed to Reon Moore. Moore made a run on the right side of the goal and hit a hard, low shot past young Guatemalan goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro that found the goalpost and bounced in for the goal.
Attempting to manage the game, Trinidad and Tobago showed patience, especially in allowing Guatemala to take rushed shots from outside, but closing them down effectively and at times physically when any players entered the box.
In the second half, as Guatemala fought harder to find the equalizer, Trinidad and Tobago’s defense cracked under the pressure from Guatemala in the 77th minute, when Ceballos served in a corner kick. Gerardo Gordillo rose high in the box to meet the ball, heading it in well past Marvin Phillip, the Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper and captain.
The tenor of the game changed as both teams, hungry for an outright win, traded half-chances on both ends of the field. T&T's Jones had a shot go off the post in the best possibility for either team.
After the frantic final minutes counted down, the split points left the Trinidad and Tobago squad, as well as Guatemala’s, eliminated. Despite the elimination, both teams can be proud of their effort.
Trinidad and Tobago manager Angus Eve, the team’s most-capped player in their history, knew the team didn’t completely control its destiny in Group A but believed his squad could hold their head high no matter the outcome if they played well.
“We are very confident,” Eve said.
The team rewarded his belief, playing a smart match to hold an early advantage for most of the game. Yet Guatemala was brave in its own right, fighting back to find an equalizer and ensure they left the Gold Cup with at least one positive result. As Guatemala’s coach, Rafael Loredo said before kickoff, “If we want to grow, we need to have international competition.”
It is both sides' participation and matches like this that make the Gold Cup special.
Mount Pleasant FA and Molynes United battled to a thrilling 2-2 draw in their Jamaica Premier League encounter at the UWI/JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence in Kingston on Sunday.
Former National Under-20 striker Nicholas Nelson (4th) and Sergino Frankson (87th) scored for Molynes United while Kesslon Hall (47th) and Liston James (50th) replied for Mount Pleasant.
The share of the points resulted in Mount Pleasant having five points in sixth spot from four games while Molynes United are in 10th with two points from three games.
Both teams started the game under new coaches with Englishman Walter Downes taking over from Paul Davis at Mount Pleasant while Anthony Patrick replaced Calvert Fitzgerald at Molynes United.
It was a dream start for Patrick as Nicholas Nelson pounced on a headed pass by his brother Jermy Nelson and toe-poked home ahead of the flat-footed defender Osani Ricketts. Mount Pleasant responded with two goals in three minutes in the second half by Kesslon Hall and Liston James.
Hall tapped home after McCalla’s header squeezed under Molynes’ goalkeeper Roje Williams even although it seemed destined to get over the line.
Shortly after, James carried the ball unchallenged out of defence and played the ball out wide. He then continued his run into the opponent’s box to be on the end of Francois Swaby’s cross and nodded home.
However, just when it seemed Downes would kick off his coaching stint in Jamaica with a win when Frankson found space at the back post and fired home from a corner to pull Molynes United level.
“We started the game on the right foot, how we wanted to play because we analyzed our opponent and we made some changes to our team and got the first goal,” Molynes United assistant coach Andre Daley explained afterwards.
He said poor concentration hampered their flow in the second half.
Meanwhile, Downes thought his team started too slowly probably because of the logistical issues they experienced while on their way to the match.
“We didn’t start the way I would have liked but our approach to the second half was much better. We had a disruptive journey here today but it was no excuse still,” Downes said.
Nicholas Nelson of Molynes United was named Man of the Match.
Seattle Sounders' 13-game unbeaten streak to start the 2021 MLS season is over after conceding late in a 1-0 defeat away to Minnesota United on Sunday.
Finnish midfielder Robin Lod tapped home from Niko Hansen's deflected cutback for the 81st-minute winner.
The Sounders had enjoyed a spectacular start to the season, but have now only managed one win from their past four games.
Seattle remains top of the Western Conference with 29 points from 14 games, but second-placed Sporting KC are three points behind with a game in hand after winning three in a row. Minnesota moves up to sixth with the win.
United had two good first-half chances from set pieces, with Emanuel Reynoso's free-kick going marginally off target and Bakaye Dibassy's flick from a corner going wide too.
MLS equal top scorer Raul Ruidiaz was denied by United keeper Tyler Miller too, while the Sounders thought they had the lead in the 76th minute. Xavier Arreaga headed home Joao Paulo's free-kick but it was disallowed for offside.
Lod had a penalty shout turned down before a minute later finding space inside the box to finish from Hansen's pass.
Shaq Moore struck after just 20 seconds as the United States beat Canada 1-0 in Kansas City to clinch top spot in Group B at the Gold Cup.
The tournament hosts withstood late Canada pressure to preserve a 100 per cent record, following the 1-0 win over Haiti and 6-1 thrashing of Martinique.
Moore's winning goal saw him sidefoot home from close range after Sebastian Lletget's low cross from the left rolled across the six-yard box.
It was the USA's fastest goal in Gold Cup history, tournament officials said, and it was Tenerife defender Moore's first international strike.
Gyasi Zardes glanced a header wide of the right post as the United States sought a second early goal, and Daryl Dike fizzed a shot a yard off target after a low cross from the right.
Canada began the second half with purpose, Tajon Buchanan drawing an early save from New England Revolution team-mate Matt Turner, but an equaliser proved elusive.
Jonathan Osorio, Buchanan and Richie Laryea all tried their luck without reward, and a late 20-yard shot from Lucas Cavallini that skidded off the surface and into Turner's arms was Canada's last chance at Children's Mercy Park.
Gregg Berhalter's United States side advance to a quarter-final against the runners-up from Group C, to be played on July 25 in Arlington, Texas.
Canada, coached by John Herdman, remain alive in the competition despite this loss, and they advance as runners-up from Group B to face the Group C winners.
Jamaica and Costa Rica, both with six points from two games so far in Group C, are certain to progress. They go head to head in Orlando on Tuesday to decide who finishes top and faces Canada and who comes second in that pool and takes on the US next.
Gabriel Heinze has been sacked by Atlanta United after just seven months as head coach of the Major League Soccer team.
The former Argentina international, who played for clubs including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, was unable to convert his top-level experience into success on the touchline in MLS.
Heinze departs after his team won just two of their opening 13 games in the regular season, losing four and drawing seven times to sit 10th in the 14-team Eastern Conference.
A 1-0 defeat to New England on Saturday sealed Heinze's fate.
He was appointed in December 2020, and a recent stand-off between the coach and star player Josef Martinez, a former MLS Cup MVP, went down badly with supporters.
A statement from the club said: "Atlanta United today announced the club has relieved head coach Gabriel Heinze of his duties, effective immediately. Assistant coach Rob Valentino will take over as interim head coach.
"A variety of issues relating to the day-to-day leadership of the team led the club to this decision."
Club president Darren Eales said: "This was certainly not a decision we wanted to make at this point in our season, but it was the right one for the club. Gabi is a talented coach and is undeniably passionate about his craft and the sport of soccer."
Vere United drubbed Humble Lion 3-1 in a drama-filled Clarendon derby in the Jamaica Premier League at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Sunday.
In addition to the four goals, there were six yellow cards, one to Vere’s head coach Donovan Duckie, and two red cards. It all climaxed when Anjay Gayle, who came on as a substitute in the 90th minute for Kevin Johnson, scored in the 92nd minute.
Johnson, who had come on for Tyrese Harrison in the 67th minute, was substituted because coach Donovan Duckie was determined to get Gayle into the game.
Before all that, Man-of-the-Match Ricardo Messam scored two goals of high quality - in the 27th and 57th minutes - that proved to be cornerstones of the Vere United victory.
Vere United took the lead after Humble Lion’s defender Kemar Drake failed to clear his area, allowing Messam to slot home. Andrew Vanzie would pull Humble Lion level in the 37th minute from the penalty spot for a handball in the box.
Four minutes later, things began to go downhill for Humble Lion when defender Linval Lewis was ejected after picking up his second yellow card. A man short, Humble Lion conceded a second goal when Messam tapped home after the ball rebounded into his path.
Following what was their second win of the season, Vere climbed into a tie with Harbour View at the top of the table on eight points. However, Harbour View are ahead on goal difference.
Humble Lion, meanwhile, are without a point at the foot of the table after their fourth consecutive loss, which left Head Coach Andrew Price livid.
“We keep shooting ourselves in the foot every week and getting that red card so very early in the first half, we were always behind the eight ball and had to battle against a team with a numerical advantage,” Price said.
“We have to find ways of managing and playing the game properly. We have to play with some common sense and we not doing that right now, which is unfortunate, and giving up goals that the opponents don't have to work hard for.”
Meanwhile, Duckie was more than satisfied with the three points.
“Well, full credit to my team. It’s a derby game and we know exactly what would have happened. I thought the referee had his hands full but did the best he could,” he said.
“We scored some goals today which is unlike us because we started to play from a defensive position but I thought the guys stuck to the task and it was hard work that gave us the victory.”
Harbour View blanked Dunbeholden 2-0 in the feature game of the Jamaica Premier League at the UWI-JFF/Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
Two goals in four minutes spurred Cavalier to a 3-0 win over Arnett Gardens as actions continued in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) at the JFF-UWI/Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
After playing second fiddle for most of the game, Cavalier struck decisively in the 52nd minute when Shaniel Thomas slotted home from a Ronaldo Webster cross. Four minutes later, Melvin Doxilly’s scissor kick made it 2-0. Thomas would his second goal in the 79th minute slotting home from close range after Dwayne Atkinson’s shot rebounded off the crossbar.
It was a brilliant build-up involving Atkinson, who combined well with Kamoy Simpson to split the Arnett backline.
The win meant that Cavalier moved to the top of the JPL standings with seven points from four games while Arnett Gardens remained in eighth spot on three points from three games.
It was their first loss to Cavalier in their last five meetings, Arnett Gardens should have taken the lead in the sixth minute when Steve Clarke picked out Renaldo Cephas in the box but the latter dragged his shot wide.
They would dominate the half taking 11 shots at goal. Cavalier, meanwhile, failed to register a single shot.
Arnett began the second half well with Hardley Barnes firing just wide in the 48th minute.
However, Cavalier gradually began to turn things around and ended the game brilliantly by a margin that could have been wider Shaniel Thomas’ goal not been ruled out for offside.
St Lucian defender Melvin Doxilly, who started in midfield, was named Man-of-the-Match for his scissor-kick goal.
“It was an amazing goal. I told myself I will score today and I want to say thanks to the Most High for making me score my goal today,” said Doxilly.
Meanwhile, Cavalier’s assistant coach Everdean Scarlett was happy for the win. “It’s a game of two halves. The first half they had the better of us but at half-time, we went in and made some changes. We decided that we are going to press Arnett more and get into the spaces,” said Scarlett.
Losing coach Alex Thomas said his young team still has a lot to learn.
“We have to learn to play both halves, first and second. We played a wonderful first half and in the second we came out flat and gave up some simple goals. But we have to learn, they are young and we are in a rebuilding process and we just have to keep working.”
Montreal twice rallied from two-goal deficits and beat Cincinnati 5-4 Saturday in Major League Soccer.
Montreal trailed 2-0 after 14 minutes and 4-2 after 46 minutes, but Ahmed Hamdi scored twice in the final 16 minutes to give the home side a wild victory.
In Nashville, Hany Mukhtar scored in the 10th, 13th and 16th minutes on the way to a 5-1 rout of Chicago Fire.
The six-minute span was the second-shortest for a hat-trick in MLS history after LA Galaxy's Harut Karapetyan needed just five minutes to score three in a 1998 match.
Gustavo Bou's team-leading seventh goal gave New England Revolution a 1-0 win at Atlanta United, snapping a three-game win drought for the Eastern Conference leaders.
Second-half goals from Deiber Caicedo and Cristian Dajome gave Vancouver just their third win from 13 games this season, a 2-1 triumph over LA Galaxy.
Darlington Nagbe's impressive individual effort opened the scoring in a 2-1 Columbus Crew win over New York City FC.
Nani's 77th-minute penalty gave Orlando City a 1-1 draw with Toronto after Jozy Altidore had opened the scoring five minutes earlier, while Cole Bassett's second-half goal for Colorado Rapids earned a 1-1 draw against San Jose.
Kacper Przybylko's 83rd-minute decider gave Philadelphia Union a 2-1 victory over DC United, while Jeremy Ebobisse scored in the 84th minute to lift Portland past Dallas 1-0.
Carlos Vela's left-footed rocket in the 79th minute was the difference in LAFC's 2-1 home win over Real Salt Lake.
The New York Red Bulls-Inter Miami match was postponed due to weather.
Evin Lewis blasted nine sixes and the West Indies to a 16-run victory to complete a 4-1 T20I series triumph over Australia in St Lucia on Friday.
Batting at the top of the order, Lewis smashed 79 from 34 balls, including four fours and nine sixes to get the West Indies off to a flying start after captain Nicholas Pooran won the toss.
Lewis fell at 124-3 at the end of the 11th over, before Andrew Tye took three late wickets while Mitch Marsh impressed again with 12-2.
Pooran (31 from 18) and Chris Gayle (21 from seven) contributed as the West Indies amassed an imposing 199-8, although Australia started brightly in reply led by Marsh.
Marsh came to the crease after opener Josh Philippe fell for one, hitting five fours and one six, before falling off Andre Russell's first ball for 30 from 15 deliveries.
A visibly limping Aaron Finch was spectacularly caught by Fabian Allen with a diving left-hand effort for 34 from 23 off the impressive Hayden Walsh who took the most wickets in the series.
Wickets continued to fall with regularity as Andre Russell finished with a personal T20I best 43-3.
LEWIS PUSHES WORLD CUP CASE
Lewis was dropped after a duck in the opening T20I, before returning with 31 in Wednesday's dead rubber.
But the 29-year-old Trinidadian showcased his ability with a stunning knock on Friday setting the tone for the hosts.
The left-hander is one of the West Indies' players vying for a spot in their final T20 World Cup squad and did his hopes no harm, in a side missing several key players including Kieron Pollard.
Lewis said post-game: "I basically stayed still and watched the ball on to the bat. It's always good to score runs and contribute to the team to get the victory."
The Trinidadian's only two T20I centuries both came in 2017. He added: "I've been working hard from 2017 to now. Obviously, I want to keep scoring runs and cashing in at all times."
MARSH PROVES SHINING LIGHT
Australia lost the series 4-1 with Marsh their shining light from the five-game T20I series, producing another display of his quality in the shortest format on Friday.
Marsh took 12-2 from two overs and crunched 30 from 15, finishing the series with 219 runs at 43.8 with a strike rate above 150.
The big all-rounder also hit 10 sixes throughout the series, double the next best Australian, while he also hit a team-high 20 fours.
Marsh also chipped with the ball, taking a team-high eight wickets, including 24-3.
Finch said: "I think Mitch Marsh stood out with his first opportunity at number three consistently and the role that he did with the ball."
Guadeloupe put up a good fight, but Jamaica’s experience provided a slight edge for the Reggae Boyz in a 2-1 victory.
Guadeloupe started brightly with an early goal. In the fourth minute, The Gwada Boys took advantage of a failed set piece from Jamaica and counterattacked. An awkward deflection off Jamaican defender Amari’i Bell got past his own keeper -- giving Guadeloupe the 1-0 lead.
The opening goal livened up the match as Jamaica kept pressing Guadeloupe in search of an equalizer. Jamaica would get a response just 10 minutes later via a counterattack that caught the Guadeloupe defense off guard. Jamaican striker Cory Burke was able to line up the ball perfectly to score at the far post. This is Burke’s seventh goal in 17 caps with the team.
After an exciting opening 15 minutes, both sides played more cautiously to end the first half. In the second half, it was clear neither side wanted to finish the match with a draw.
Jamaica began to pick up momentum and started to push more players up. In the 62nd minute, Jamaica forward Shamar Nicholson came close to giving his team the edge buthe missed an opportunity by sending the ball flying over the net.
Guadeloupe would fight back and generate opportunities of their own, but also struggled to find the goal.
Finally, in the dying minutes of the contest, the Reggae Boyz wouldn't be denied. Jamaica striker Junior Flemmings used some nifty footwork to get past the rival defense and drove a left-footed finish through the legs of Guadeloupe goalkeeper Yohann Thuram- straight into the back of the net. It secured a crucial result for Jamaica, who now sits on top of Group C with six points.
Stand-in West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran insists he is not very bothered by his form, despite a difficult time at the crease in recent matches.
The Windies currently lead their five-match T20 series against Australia, 3-1. So far, Pooran has made a total of 65 runs in three innings. He was run out in the first game for just 17 from 16 deliveries and did not bat in game 2. He had a better game 3 when he scored a responsible 32 not out from 27 deliveries to build a partnership with Chris Gayle that led the Windies to the series victory.
Despite that good performance in the previous game, Pooran was dismissed cheaply once again in game 4. With the West Indies chasing 190 to win, he was caught off the bowling of Mitchell Marsh for just 16 from 15 deliveries.
Pooran’s lack of form has been a concern for many West Indies cricket fans and analysts since the IPL earlier this year. The left-hander, who represents the Punjab Kings, only managed 28 runs from 7 matches before the tournament was halted due to the rising COVID cases in India. He was dismissed for a duck 4 times out of his 6 innings with his highest score being 19.
“I’m not worried about myself to be honest. You know I’m getting starts which is very important. A couple of months ago (during the IPL), I wasn’t even getting starts at all so I’m very thankful, very happy to actually be getting starts. So, I’m not worried about myself in all honesty,” Pooran told members of the media during a press conference on Thursday.
The West Indies will play the final game of their T20 series against Australia tonight at the Darren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia. They will then move on to Barbados for a three-match ODI series.
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