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• Salas hits seven as Costa Rica maul St Kitts and Nevis 19-0 to top Group C in League A

  Maria Paula Salas scored seven goals, as Costa Rica mauled St Kitts and Nevis 19-0 to secure top spot in Group C of League A of the Concacaf Women's Gold Cup qualifiers at the SKNFA Technical Centre in Basseterre, on Monday night.

  By virtue of topping the group, Costa Rica advanced to next year's Concacaf Women's Gold Cup group stage, while runners-up Haiti will progress to the Preliminary stage of the tournament.

   

  The Ticas wasted no time to get going and held a 3-0 lead after five minutes with a pair of Salas goals in the second and fifth minutes, sandwiching an Alexa Herrera third-minute goal.

  Salas then notched her hat-trick in the ninth, and a minute later, it was 5-0, as she added a bouncing a header.

  Gloriana Villalobos extended the lead in the 19th, followed by the fifth goal for Salas in the 23rd, and then Fabiola Villalobos scoring in the 25th, on a powerful right-footed shot to make it 8-0.

  There was another spurt of goals from Costa Rica shortly before halftime, beginning with Herrera in the 43rd, Sheika Scott in the 44th, Raquel Rodriguez in the 45+3 from the penalty spot, and a sixth goal from Salas in the 45+5 with a shot from close-range, to put Costa Rica 12-0 up at the break.

  Though the game was already done and dusted, Costa Rica kept the pressure on and added another in the 49th through Salas.

  Melissa Herrera added her name to the score sheet with a 59th-minute header, before Alexandra Pinell squeezed in a shot in the 64th.

  A right-footed volley off a corner kick from Mariela Campos in the 68th, stretched the lead, and the night was then capped by Tanisha Fonseca nodding home a header in the 89th, Emilie Valenciano slotting one home in the 90+2, and Fonseca tacking on another in the 90+3 to complete the 19-0 scoreline.

• Belize, Curacao end Gold Cup qualifiers on high

  Belize and Curacao wrapped up their Concacaf Women's Gold Cup qualifying campaign with victories in Groups A and D of League C on Monday.

  Aruba vs Belize

  Group A winners Belize celebrated their accomplishment with a 1-0 victory against Aruba at the Guillermo P. Trinidad Stadium in Oranjestad, Aruba. 

  With the win, Belize ended unbeaten in six games and maximum 18 points, while outscoring opponents 20-1. Second-placed Aruba wrapped up their campaign with three wins and three loses, the nine points.

  It was a very tight affair throughout the entire match, as both teams nullified each other's attacking prowess. As such, it wasn't until the 85th minute that Belize found the all-important strike, and it fittingly came from the right foot of Mikhaila Bowden.

  Bowden's well-taken freekick lodged in the top right-hand corner of the goal, as she finished as one of the team’s top scorers on the campaign with five goals. 

  Turks and Caicos Islands vs Bonaire

  Bonaire were also victorious in their Group A finale, as they blanked Turks and Caicos Islands 2-0 at the TCIFA National Stadium in Providenciales.

  It was the second victory for Bonaire, who ended with two wins, one draw and three losses, and seven points. Turks and Caicos Islands finished in fourth. 

  Both Bonaire goals came in the first half. Vurgy-Ann Visers broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when she turned in a cross from the left wing from Jeanelle Thode. 

  Celine Van Loe then doubled the advantage in the 35th, with a thumping header off a corner kick to complete the day’s scoring for the visitors.

  Curacao vs Cayman Islands

  Curacao defeated Cayman Islands 6-1 at the Stadion Rignaal Jean Francisca in Willemstad, Curacao.

  Curacao topped Group D with a perfect four wins in as many games, while Cayman Islands finished in third with a point. 

  The host raced out to an early 2-0 lead on the strength of goals from Jeleaugh Rosa in the fifth minute, and Kadisha Martina in the 19th.

   But Cayman Islands responded in the 26th, courtesy of a Chelsea Brown free kick. 

  Cayman Islands almost pulled level in the 55th, as Molly Kehoe went on a stunning solo run, but Curacao goalkeeper Julainy Fanijten Thielman came up with a massive save.

  Instead, it was Curacao that pushed further ahead, with Taisha Hansen finishing a 66th-minute right-footed effort.

  Curaçao then added goals in the 81st, 86th and 90th from Martina, Sadeyah Rosa and Emily Pulido, who completed the rout.

• Nick Montgomery wants Hibernian ‘up there challenging’ ahead of Celtic test

  Inside Easter Road reminders are everywhere, including on the mouse mats, of what is expected at Hibernian.

  Doing the small things, humility without an ego, and reinforcing a demanding but healthy culture sit alongside the desire to consistently qualify for Europe and close the gap on Celtic and Rangers.

  On Wednesday, boss Nick Montgomery – three months into his reign – gets the chance to test their progress again.

  Under chief executive Ben Kensell, Hibs’ internal mantra is to be the club which dares to do things differently. It is up to Montgomery to ensure it happens on the pitch ahead of the trip to Celtic.

  “It’s very hard but you only have to look at Leicester in the Premier League, no-one really expected them to do that (winning in 2016),” the former Sheffield United midfielder tells the PA news agency.

  “Every club in every league will see that as an inspirational story. Is it sustainable? No, it’s hard to be sustainable because look at where Leicester are now but that’s a one-off example.

  “You can only try to achieve the best positions every season. It’s not easy to compete against the two giants of the division, but that’s something every team aspires to do.

  “I’m not saying we can compete on any level with them financially, budget-wise that’s never going to happen.

  “What we can do is make sure we have a team competitive enough to make sure we’re competing in every game.”

  The long-term plans stem from Kensell, who has laid important foundations at Easter Road and was key in helping bring Montgomery to Edinburgh from Central Coast Mariners in September after Lee Johnson’s departure.

  Former Reading manager Brian McDermott also joined as director of football in May.

  Kensell was a driving force behind commercial and on pitch success at Norwich, as chief operating officer, before leaving in 2021. He helped oversee two promotions to the Premier League and guided them through the pandemic as part of the club’s executive committee.

  Another of the 10 points at Easter Road which underline the demand on staff is “enjoy what you do, work hard, play hard and smile”. It is something which resonates with Montgomery and translates into what he is doing on the pitch.

  “In the time I’ve been here we’ve had a lot of progress in terms of an identity on the pitch, off it we want people to enjoy it but also know it’s going to be hard work,” he says, from his office at the snow-covered training ground in Tranent.

  “The first thing is getting to know people, what their strengths and weaknesses are and creating a team environment but one where everyone demands off each other.

  “The boys are a tight-knit group, we have brought in a couple of speakers and sports psychologists to talk to them about bonding and how you can become stronger.

  “That’s my job, to make sure that happens, to create an environment where everyone feels they can be themselves.”

  Montgomery won Central Coast Mariners’ first A-League title in 10 years last season and has now been joined by wife Josie and daughters Eva, Chloe and Leah, who watched their first game, Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Aberdeen, after flying from Australia.

  A third straight win left Hibs two points behind third-placed Hearts and Montgomery believes it is just the beginning.

  “Everybody knows there are two massive teams in the league but you want to be up there challenging,” he said.

  “We want to become a club with an identity, a club that develops players, one which can sell players to the biggest leagues in the world and reinvest back into the academy and the foundations.

  “We want to keep growing the fanbase and the community and give everyone a club to be proud of.”