Jamaica’s Cavalier FC suffered their first loss of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup campaign as they were stunned 2-1 by Haitian counterparts Real Hope FA in a keenly contested Group A encounter at the National Stadium on Tuesday.

After taking an early lead through Dwayne Atkinson in the fourth minute, the reigning Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions lapsed in concentration in the second half and Real Hope capitalised through Rikanel Chery (60th) and Steeve Mondestin (66th) to secure their first win of the tournament.

Despite the loss, Cavalier remain atop the standings on six points, two ahead of Real Hope, who inched up to second on four points. Mount Pleasant (three points), Police FC (one point), and Arnett Gardens (zero) complete the group.

Knowing a victory would put them one step closer to the semi-final, Cavalier started spiritedly and quickly broke the deadlock when Atkinson fired home from Shaquille Stein’s pass after a tidy buildup on the left channel.

The score remained unchanged at the break as both teams created a few half chances but failed to make them count.

Though there was a lengthy delay to the start of the second half, due to a section of the Stadium lights going out, Real Hope were unflustered and pulled level at the hour mark when Chery got on the end of Jeudy Jhonson’s through ball and fired home from close range.

The Haitian club found the lead six minutes later when Mondestin converted from the 12-yard spot after being awarded a penalty.

Still, Cavalier found a fresh wind at the backend of the contest and almost secured a share of the spoils, but Kaile Auvray’s well-struck effort was cleared off the line by Peterson Pierre five minutes from time.

Real Hope will seek to maintain its momentum against another Jamaican outfit, Arnett Gardens, next Wednesday at the same venue, while Cavalier’s next assignment will also be against the ‘Junglists’ on October 3.