Mexico tops Guadeloupe 2-0

July 13, 2009

GLENDALE, Arizona – Goals in each half were enough Sunday to give Mexico a 2-0 win against short-handed Guadeloupe and finish it on top of Group C in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

A partisan crowd of 23,876 at the University of Phoenix Stadium watched an El Tri squad without manager Javier Aguirre rake in a much needed win thanks in part to Gerardo Torrado and Miguel Sabah.

Torrado scored in the 42nd minute and Sabah sent one into the net five minutes after coming in as a substitute in the 80th minute.

Both goals and a spectacular save by goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa helped relieve some pressure off El Tri and its officials.

Mexico was coming off a 1-1 draw against Panama where it had Aguirre ejected, leading to a three-match suspension.

Aguirre watched the match in a luxury box sitting between Mexican federation president Justino Compean and director of national teams Nestor De La Torre.

A place in the quarterfinals was guaranteed for Mexico prior to the match but Aguirre’s team wanted to avoid a third-place finish in the group and a match against the two-time defending champion United States in Philadelphia.

Instead, Mexico will travel to Dallas to face Haiti in one of two quarterfinal matches to be held at the Dallas Cowboys New Stadium next Sunday.

Guadeloupe, who had Alain Vertot (72nd minute) and Ludovic Gotin (79th) ejected, is slated to take on Costa Rica in the first game of the doubleheader in Dallas.

Mexico capitalized on the two-man advantage with a barage of in the second half but the damage already had been done.

Torrado’s goal made the early difference.

Torrado sent a right-footed blast from about 25 meters to the lower-right corner of the net. Guadeloupe goalkeeper Marius Fausta got a piece of Torrado’s shot but couldn’t keep it out.

That marked Torrado’s fifth goal with the national team and his first of the tournament.

The scoring play was set up by the wing play of right-back Efrain Juarez, who made his first start for El Tri in the Gold Cup.

Juarez floated a pass from right to left to Torrado, who stood unmarked. The Mexican captain loaded and fired his shot to open up the score.

Sabah scored via a header off a Pablo Barrera corner kick.

Ochoa’s save was just as important. He kept out a Larry Clavier header with a diving save to his right, redirecting the shot over the crossbar in the 79th minute.

That was Guadeloupe’s only shot of the match, while Fausta faced 16 from Mexico.

A motivated Mexico came out pressuring Guadeloupe’s defense early in the match. El Tri sent its lines forward looking for an early score.

Mexico created a couple of early scoring opportunities.

It’s first came 35 seconds into the match.

Forward Alberto Medina sent a shot that looked more like a cross from left to right, but Fausta slapped the ball away for the save near the mouth of the goal.

Omar Bravo sent a blast from about 25 meters zooming just left of Fausta’s left post in the 11th minute. Mexico midfielder Israel Castro sent a similar shot 10 minutes later.

Mexico controlled possession for most of the first half. El Tri outshot the Gwada Boys 10-0 in opening 45 minutes.

Guadeloupe couldn’t generate any form of offense.

But perhaps Guadeloupe was not looking for many goals. It often kept at least eight players behind the ball , perhaps playing for the draw.

After all, Guadeloupe had already secured at least a second-place finish in the group.

By: Ivan Orozco

Tags: Alain Vertot, alberto medina, Arizona, barage, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, concacaf gold cup, Costa Rica, Dallas, dallas cowboys, dallas cowboys new stadium, doubleheader, el tri, fausta, federation president, fifth goal, gerardo torrado, Glendale, glendale arizona, guadeloupe, guillermo ochoa, Haiti, israel, Ivan Orozco, Javier Aguirre, Justino Compean, Larry Clavier, Ludovic Gotin, man advantage, Mexico, Miguel Sabah, Nestor De La, New Stadium, omar bravo, Pablo Barrera, Panama, partisan crowd, Philadelphia, quarterfinal matches, Sabah, time defending champion, Tri, United States, university of phoenix, university of phoenix stadium

Gold Cup: Mexico win group, avoid USA clash

July 13, 2009

Mexico finished first in Group C of the CONCACAF Gold Cup thanks to a 2-0 win over Guadeloupe in the last group game of the tournament.

The only goal of the match, played in Glendale, Arizona, came after 42 minutes when Cruz Azul player Gerardo Torrado sent a shot past keeper Fausta.

Guadeloupe’s Vertot was sent off with a second yellow card in the 72nd minute. Things got even worse in minute 83 when a violent tackle from Gotin earned Guadeloupe their second red card.

Two minutes later, Miguel Sabah headed home from a corner to make it 2-0.

The quarter finals are as follows:

July 18 Canada – Honduras

United States – Panama

July 19 Guadeloupe – Costa Rica

Mexico – Haiti

By: Jonathan Roorda

Tags: Canada, canada honduras, clash, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, concacaf gold cup, Costa Rica, cruz azul, fausta, gerardo torrado, Glendale, glendale arizona, group game, guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Jonathan Roorda, match, Mexico, Miguel Sabah, Panama, quarter finals, roorda, Sabah, tournament, two minutes, yellow card

Gwada Boys start with 2-1 victory over Panama

July 6, 2009

OAKLAND – First-half goals from Loic Loval and David Fleurival saw Guadeloupe fashion another Gold Cup surprise, beating Central American champions Panama 2-1 on Sunday.

The Gwada Boys, who were missing four players because of injury, including the 2007 Gold Cup’s top goalkeeper Franck Grandel, also received some stellar play from his replacement Marius Fausta.

Nelson Barahona pulled a goal back for Panama in the 68th minute, but it wasn’t enough to stop Guadeloupe from claiming all three points at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

The match opened with some rugged challenges on both sides as Guadeloupe’s Aurelian Capoue and Panama’s Armando Gun each received yellow cards inside the first 10 minutes.

Panama then carved out the game’s first opening when Barahona’s return feed to Blas Perez saw the striker’s close-range shot blocked by Fausta, with some considerable help from defender Miguel Cominges.

That proved a brief respite from the parade of yellows, with Panama’s Barahona and Felipe Baloy as well as Guadeloupe’s Mickael Tacalfred each cautioned over the next 15 minutes.

As the half wore on, Capoue found plenty of space on the counter, and one such foray saw Guadeloupe nearly break on top in the 32nd minute. Capoue’s cross was met by Loval, but his attempted chip was saved by Panama keeper Jaime Penedo.

Yet it was only one minute later that the two players combined to put the Gwada Boys on top with the help of a terrible defensive error. Capoue’s cross looked set to be dealt with by Gun, but his attempted chest pass back to Penedo was too soft and Loval pounced to poke the ball into the goal.

Fleurival then doubled the Gwada Boys’ advantage with a stunning goal two minutes before halftime. He collected Loval’s pass 40 yards from goal, and unleashed a blast that flew into the upper corner of Penedo’s net.

Jose Luis Garces nearly pulled a goal back for Panama in first-half stoppage time, but his fierce drive forced a foot-save from Fausta that was equal parts awkward and effective.

Panama piled on the pressure in the second half. Perez threatened twice inside the first minute while a Barahona free kick four minutes later forced a superb save from Fausta.

Fausta nearly kept his shutout in the 68th minute, reacting to knock away Perez’s bicycle kick attempt, but Barahona volleyed the rebound to halve the deficit.

Barahona nearly equalized in the 74th minute, but Fausta produced another unorthodox foot save to keep Guadeloupe in front.

Perez had one final chance in stoppage time, but his close-range header went just over the bar.

By Jeff Carlisle

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Tags: 2007 gold cup, alameda county, american champions, Armando Gun, aurelian, barahona, blas perez, Capoue, Central American, close range, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, county coliseum, David Fleurival, fausta, Felipe Baloy, franck grandel, guadeloupe, Gwada, jaime penedo, Jeff Carlisle, jose luis garces, loic, loval, Marius Fausta, Mickael, Miguel Cominges, Nelson Barahona, Oakland, Panama, Perez, pounced, s pass, stoppage time, yellow cards, yellows

Grandel, three others out of Guadeloupe with injuries

July 6, 2009

OAKLAND – If Guadeloupe is going to repeat its semifinal outing in the 2007 Gold Cup, it will have to do it without four key players.

Goalkeepers Franck Grandel (shoulder) and Fabrice Mercury (hamstring), midfielder Ludovic Sylvestre (ankle), and defender Ronald Zubar (knee) are out with injuries.

All four are expected to miss Guadeloupe’s match against Panama Sunday.

Grandel, who was chosen the 2007 Gold Cup’s top goalkeeper and earned all-tournament team honors, has left Oakland for France where he is expected to rehabilitate with his new club Dijon.

Guadeloupe team officials said Grandel would have stayed had his shoulder been in better condition and would have waited to sign with Dijon.

Grandel didn’t have a club prior to being named to the Gold Cup roster. He’s considered one of the nation’s top players.

It is not clear who will replace Grandel in goal. Assistant coach Alex Parnasse said Marius Fausta and Yohann Bus are possible replacements for both injured goalkeepers.

“We don’t know who will start,” Parnasse said in French through an interpreter. “It will be a game-time decision.”

What is clear is that Fabien Jerome, a defender, and midfielder Larry Clavier are slated to join the team as replacements.

Despite losing the handful of players to injury, Guadeloupe remains confident.

After all, they are not the favorite to win Group C, which includes Mexico.