Cibao's Rivaldo Correa celebrates one of his two goals.
Concacaf
Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC produced a gritty performance to better Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain in a come-from-behind 3-2 win that secured their spot in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup semi-finals.
A brace from Rivaldo Correa (75th and 89th) and the other from Jean Lopez (63rd) handed Cibao FC the crucial win after Shackiel Smek Henry (38th) and Jameel Neptune (40th) put AC Port of Spain in front at Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Meanwhile, Joseph Willinx (45th and 69th) got a brace for Ouanaminthe and Quinton Griffith (20th) and Malcolm Stewart (89th) scored for Grenades FC as both teams played out a 2-2 stalemate in Dominican Republic also on Tuesday.
The win propelled Cibao to seven points, same as their compatriots Moca FC, who are also through to the semi-finals, while Antigua’s Grenades FC (two points), AC Port of Spain (two points), and Haiti’s Ouanaminthe (two points) complete Group B.
It was an aggressive start by AC Port of Spain, who wasted little time to make their intentions known and eventually took the lead in the 38th when Henry headed home from Neptune’s weighted cross to take his tournament tally to three goals.
Neptune added his name to the score sheet two minutes later with an acrobatic finish from deep inside the 18-yard box to put AC Port of Spain 2-0 up at the break.
However, the second half belonged to Cibao as Herold Charles entered the contest in the 53rd and injected tempo into their attack to inspire the comeback. His first served up a weighted cross for Lopez to lash home in the 63rd.
Charles provided another weighted cross in the 75th, this time for Correa to finish and pull Cibao level.
Correa and Charles also connected on the winning goal as the former got on the end of a decent through pass and slotted home on the stroke of full time.
With AC Port of Spain and the others now out of contention, Cibao’s and Moca’s final group fixtures against Ouanaminthe and Grenades, respectively, will be of academic interest on October 1.
Saint Lucia, Haiti stay perfect in Groups B and C of League B
Saint Lucia and Haiti consolidated their leads atop their respective Concacaf Nations League groups following contrasting wins in their League B encounters on Friday.
Caniggia Elva’s late brace in the 76th and 90th propelled St Lucia to a 2-1 win over Saint Martin, who led for most of the contest courtesy of Axel Raga’s 30th-minute strike in their Group B clash at the Darren Sammy Ground.
The win moved Saint Lucia to maximum nine points from three games. Curacao and Grenada, who played out a goalless stalemate in the other group contest, sit second and third on four points each, while Saint Martin is still yet to get on the board.
Over in Group C, Haiti beat host Aruba 3-1 at Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadion.
Tyron Perret Gentil fired Aruba in front in the sixth minute, but Haiti responded through Frantzdy Pierrot (31st), and a brace from Duckens Nazon, who scored from the penalty spot in the 38th, followed by a 61st-minute close range effort.
The win saw Haiti move up to nine points from three games, three points ahead of Sint Maarten, who clipped Puerto Rico 3-2 in the other fixture.
Chovanie Amatkarijo (44th, 85th) and Imar Kort (49th) got the job done for Sint Maarten, while Rodolfo Sulia (2nd) and Alec Diaz (90+5) got Puerto Rico’s goals.
Puerto Rico remain on three points, with Aruba still pointless.
Saka and Jones withdraw from England's Nations League squad
England have confirmed that Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Liverpool's Curtis Jones have withdrawn from the squad ahead of their Nations League clash with Finland on Sunday.
Saka was replaced by Noni Madueke in the 51st minute during England's shock 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday after picking up an injury in his right leg.
It only adds to Mikel Arteta's injury worries ahead of facing Bournemouth next Saturday after Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty for Norway last month.
Saka has enjoyed a fine start to the Premier League campaign, scoring two goals and laying on a further seven assists in the Gunners' opening seven games.
The England international has also created more chances (27) than any other player in the division, with his nine goal involvements a total only bettered by Chelsea's Cole Palmer (11) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (10).
Lee Carsley will also be without uncapped Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who was added to the Three Lions squad earlier this week, but has since withdrawn due to a personal commitment.
Jones earned his first call-up in May as part of Gareth Southgate's provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024, but did not make the final cut.
The 23-year-old was part of the Young Lions side that won the 2023 European Under-21 Championship under Carsley, scoring the only goal in their 1-0 win over Spain in the final.
Hungary 1-1 Netherlands: Dumfries keeps 10-man Oranje unbeaten
Denzel Dumfries' late equaliser maintained the Netherlands' unbeaten start to their Nations League campaign as they rescued a 1-1 draw with Hungary despite Virgil van Dijk's red card.
The Oranje were staring at their first defeat in Group A3 when Roland Sallai smashed Zsolt Nagy's cross home at the back post to cap a rapid break midway through the first half.
Sallai had earlier struck the post as Hungary started impressively, while Denes Dibusz was called into action by Cody Gakpo at the other end shortly before half-time.
The visitors' position was made even more tenuous with 11 minutes remaining, as Liverpool captain Van Dijk received two yellow cards in three minutes, the second for a tactical foul to prevent a Hungary counter.
But Ronald Koeman's side made light of their numerical disadvantage to draw level four minutes later, Dumfries appearing unmarked to head Gakpo's free-kick delivery home.
Neither side were able to find a winner late on, with the result keeping the Netherlands second in the table with five points, two behind leaders Germany and three clear of Hungary.
Data Debrief: No Van Dijk, no problem
Dumfries' equalising goal was the first the Netherlands have scored after receiving a red card since September 7, 2005, salvaging a valuable point just as Hungary looked set to pull level in the standings.
Van Dijk, meanwhile, became the oldest player to be sent off (aged 33 years and 95 days) since Phillip Cocu in that exact same match (34 years and 313 days).
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
