Two teams on the rise will meet in their second match of Group A of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, as a resurgent Trinidad and Tobago take on a confident El Salvador on Wednesday night at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Trinidad and Tobago have parlayed the positive momentum gained from the Prelims into a good start in the tournament after a 0-0 draw against reigning champions Mexico in their opener last Saturday.
The hero for the Soca Warriors was GK Marvin Phillip. The 36-year-old shot-stopper produced one of the finest goalkeeping performances in Gold Cup history by making seven saves to help secure the clean sheet result for the Caribbean side.
With a point under their belts, Trinidad and Tobago will now try to have their attack take flight in the tournament. Forward Reon Moore had a pair of goals in the Prelims, as did MF Kevin Molino, and getting those two players involved early and often could lay the groundwork for a full three points.
Meanwhile, El Salvador are brimming with confidence heading into Wednesday’s affair after the Cuscatlecos delivered a commanding performance in a 2-0 opening win over Guatemala.
While it took until the final 10 minutes before they finally breached the Guatemalan goal, El Salvador controlled the tempo and enjoyed the majority of the scoring chances.
MF Alex Roldan, came off the bench to make his El Salvador debut and promptly scored his first international goal, while another substitute, FW Joaquin Rivas, scored in his Gold Cup debut to nail down the victory.
Those two players, along with FW Joshua Perez and FW Juan Portillo and others give El Salvador a dynamic attack that will test the Soca Warriors.
Wednesday’s match will be the fourth Gold Cup meeting between the two sides, with El Salvador holding a narrow 2W-1D-0L edge.
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.
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.
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