Dorny Romero (right) celebrates his hat-trick with a teammate.
Concacaf
Dorny Romero scored a hat-trick to lift Dominican Republic to a third victory in Group B of League B as the 2023–24 Concacaf Nations League continued on Monday.
Despite the win, Dominican Republic remains second in the group behind Nicaragua, who were also victorious in their fixture against Montserrat.
French Guiana overtook the top spot in Group C with a victory against St Vincent and the Grenadines.
French Guiana vs. St Vincent and the Grenadines
French Guiana won 3-2 against St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Pierre-Aliker Stadium in Fort-de-France, Martinique.
Thomas Nemouthe opened the scoring in the 9th with a right-footed shot from the penalty spot. The hosts were awarded a penalty kick following a tackle on forward Arnold Abelinti.
Cornelius Stewart equalized in the 16th after an intercepted ball made for a breakaway opportunity. Oalex Anderson provided the assist across the box for Stewart to tie the game.
Franz Gaubert retook the lead for the home side in the 44th off a free kick opportunity.
Gaubert gave up a penalty after a tackle on Anderson to start the second half. Anderson took the spot kick but was denied by Marvin Golitin.
Stewart tied it again for the visitors in the 73rd as St Vincent and the Grenadines were in transition.
Jules Haabo delivered the game-winning goal in the 76th on a takeaway in midfield that he then drove into the penalty area for a diagonal strike to the bottom left corner of goal.
Dominican Republic vs. Barbados
The Dominican Republic took a 5-2 victory over Barbados on home soil at the Cibao Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros.
Thierry Gale found the back of the net in the 10th to put Barbados up from the penalty spot. The spot kick was conceded on the previous play as goalkeeper Xavier Valdez was attempting to secure the ball but tripped Codrington Shane.
Riki Alba equalized for the home side in the 17th off an individual play from the right side of goal as he battled through three defenders and the goalkeeper.
Romero continued his goalscoring form with a header in the 30th as the Dominican Republic took the lead for the first time on the night with a corner kick.
Romero secured his second goal of the night in the 48th with another header inside the penalty area. Angel Melo provided the cross from the right flank for Romero’s double.
Heinz Morschel extended the lead in the 59th with a right-footed strike inside the box.
Gale took one back for the visitors in the 66th to complete his brace. The opportunity came from a second conceded penalty kick by the Dominican Republic.
Romero struck with a third header in the 79th, this time from a corner kick. It marks six goals in the tournament for Romero and puts him in the lead in the Golden Boot race.
Nicaragua vs. Montserrat
Nicaragua defeated Montserrat 3-0 at the National Football Stadium in Managua, Nicaragua to remain atop Group B with 12 points.
Montserrat’s Lucas Kirnon came up with a header in the fourth to impede an early goal from the home side.
James Comley was ambitious from long range in the 28th in what was the best opportunity in the first half for the visiting team.
Juan Luis Perez broke through with the opening goal in the 38th on a free-kick opportunity. Defender Abraham Jeriel Dorsett tried to clear, but Perez got the header on the rebound.
Luis Coronel extended the lead in the 43rd with a hit from around the penalty marker. Bancy Hernandez supplied the assist inside the box to find his open teammate.
Matias Moldskred came on for the second half and immediately paid dividends with a third Nicaragua goal in the 48th. Goalkeeper Corrin Brooks tried to push the ball away from goal in the pouring rain to no avail.
From there, the Nicaraguan defense did the rest to nail down the clean sheet victory.
Ben Smith proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite defeat at AFC Wimbledon
Ben Smith insists he is proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite elimination following a 5-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane.
Iraq international Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice for the Dons, with Jake Reeves, Josh Neufville and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans also finding the net.
The Rams started the evening as the lowest-ranked team left in this season’s competition, but the five-goal defeat means they miss out on a home clash with Championship high-flyers Ipswich.
However, Smith was delighted to see his side stick to their style of play against EFL opposition.
“I am proud of the boys, I thought they gave it their all,” he said.
“I can’t say a player didn’t give me everything, they went to the last minute, and we did it in bucket loads.
“I think at times we did show some composure, and we did move the ball well, I just think we came up against a much better and stronger level of opposition than we are used to.
“They pressed the life out of us at times, we just didn’t have the answers in terms of forward passes.
“I would liked to have seen us score a goal, we had a couple of chances and their keeper pulled off a great save in the first half.
“It was just not to be, but I am proud of the players, it is not about tonight it is about the journey.
“You can see from the support at the end there, it was incredible.
“We move forward, it is about the league now, and this club needs to be higher than it is, that is our job, and we will use this as a springboard.”
Johnnie Jackson believes the Tractor Boys will provide a tough test when they travel to south London in the third round.
He said: “They are a top side and they are doing a great job there.
“They are doing some great stuff, and they have a chance of going up to the Premier League this year with what they are doing in the Championship.
“It will be a really tough game, but we know that, but we have been excellent here of late.
“That is five on the bounce now at home, so we feel like we can match teams, especially here.
“It will be the other way round, we will be looking to cause the shock and they will be looking to get the job done.
“The Ramsgate fans were class, they really added to the atmosphere of the game and they will probably be a bit disappointed that they did not see their team score.
“Credit to them, credit to Ben and his team, they have done themselves proud.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale
Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep Aaron Ramsdale – but refused to rule out the England goalkeeper leaving Arsenal in January.
Ramsdale lost his position as Arteta’s first-choice goalkeeper earlier this season following the arrival of David Raya on loan from Brentford.
Since September 3, Ramsdale has made just three appearances – two of which came in the Carabao Cup, with his one Premier League game in that time coming with Raya ineligible against the Bees.
View this post on Instagram
With his place at Euro 2024 in the balance as he continues to warm the bench at the Emirates Stadium, Ramsdale’s future is seemingly up in the air.
Arteta recently urged Ramsdale to be patient over any decision, saying the situation could look very different in March.
A shoulder injury to England colleague Nick Pope, however, could see Newcastle in the market for another goalkeeper in January.
Asked if he would be open to selling Ramsdale to Newcastle, Arteta replied: “I want Aaron with us.
“I am very happy to have two very, very good goalkeepers and Aaron is staying with us.
“We want to be better, so we want to add to what we already have. That’s the intention that we have.”
But, when pushed on whether he would categorically rule out a January switch for Ramsdale, the Spaniard added: “I won’t do that to any player. Any player.
“I cannot tell you that any Arsenal player is not going to leave in January. Or he is to stay here for the next three years.
“I won’t say that no player is going to go to Newcastle. Or no member of the staff either. I won’t say it. If you say yes or no, I won’t say it.
“I cannot guarantee that nobody is going to be leaving in January. For Newcastle or any other club. So it is a no.”
Ali Al-Hamadi stars as AFC Wimbledon thump Ramsgate to reach FA Cup third round
Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice as AFC Wimbledon beat Ramsgate 5-0 to set up an FA Cup third-round clash with Championship high-flyers Ipswich.
The Rams started the evening as the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and were behind after just eight minutes when Al-Hamadi pounced on a loose pass before feeding Jake Reeves, who rifled a powerful strike into the top-left corner.
The hosts doubled their advantage when Iraq international Al-Hamadi poked home at the far post following a melee in the box, and it was three when Josh Neufville stroked the ball into an empty net in the 43rd minute.
The Isthmian League South East side kept fighting, with their best chance of the half falling to Lee Martin, but his close-range effort flew over the crossbar.
Connor Lemonheigh-Evans found the bottom right corner with a driven shot to put the Dons 4-0 up three minutes after half-time.
Al-Hamadi scored his second of the match five minutes later to wrap up a convincing win, intercepting another poor Rams pass before finding the top right corner.
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
