With only 30 minutes of great soccer, Canada was able to beat Haití, 2-0, and advance to the next round as the No. 1 seed in Group A of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
After Costa Rica's 1-0 victory over Guadeloupe, both Canada and Haiti were looking for victories that would send them on to the next round as the group leaders. In the event of a tie between Canada and Haiti, only the Canadians would qualify. It was do or die for the islanders.
At the 30th minute, a Canadian cross from the right landed on the far side of the box and Dwayne De Rosario tucked it home. He didn't have much of an angle, but Haitian keeper Gabart Fenelon's mistake covering his first post allowed Canada to take the lead.
Then, two minutes later, a play started by Paul Stalteri on the right found Issey Nakajima-Farran inside the box. As Nakajima-Farran tried to cut away from Haitian defender Jean-Jacques Pierre, he was hacked by Pierre inside the box and it was the perfect chance for Canada to go up by two from the penalty spot.
De Rosario did not fail, and at the 35th minute, Canada lead, 2-0. Interestingly enough, Haiti started pushing up after the second goal, and for quite some time play was only seen in and around Canada's box.
That was Pat Onstad's time to shine. First, he stopped a shot from Pierre-Richard Bruny with his right foot. The Haitian forward connected with J. Michel Alexandre Boucicaut in a wall-pass and drove it low, but Onstad kicked it out of bounds. Then Frantz Gilles found a hole in the Maple Leafs' defense and looked to nail the ball into the back of the net, but Onstad again seized glory and cleared it out.
The second half brought out the best in Haití. Their chances kept coming as Canada simply waited for a lucky break on a counterattack. Haití's best chance was a shot by Noel Fabrice, who faced Onstad one-on-one. A through ball went past the Canadian defensive line and Fabrice, making the run, found himself completely alone ten yards from the goal. His shot went out by inches.
Robert Friend became the first Canadian to bring some pressure to Fenelon in the second half. He came in wide open on the left and tried to chip the ball over the Haitian goalkeeper. Canada were trying to recover possession, but Haiti were playing at a very high pace and Julian DeGuzman could not hold on at midfield.
Once again Haiti brought some danger to Onstad's goal, and it was more due to their effort than skill. A sloppy play at the top of the box resulted in a ball that looked as if it would bounce out of bounds. Boucicaut, however, fought for it, and if it weren't for Onstad's reflexes, Boucicaut would have cut the Canadian lead in half at the 63rd minute.
The islanders weren't giving up and the game became a Haitian monologue. The left-hand side of their attack was an open highway and crosses were coming in again and again, but they never were able to find a target. Finally, at the 65th minute, Mones Chery tried his luck with a shot from afar that forced Onstad to dive in order to clear out the danger.
Canada's Ante Jazic tested Fenelon at the 70th minute, but Bruny ended up saving the keeper's mistake on the clearance. On the next play, DeGuzman found a ball an the top of the box and tried to curve it in. This time, Fenelon delivered by diving to make a great save.
Bruny was ejected at the 80th minute for elbowing a Canadian defender, and with the red card, Haiti lost all their hopes of coming back.
Alfonso Duro is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
