In yet another surprising Olympic qualifying twist in Group B, the winner of the group emerged after a pair of hotly contested games Friday night at The Home Depot Center -- but it certainly was not the incoming favorite.
Both teams that took an early lead ultimately fell by the same scoreline. Haiti scored two second-half goals to defeat Canada 2-1 in the opening match and Guatemala defeated Mexico 2-1 in the second contest. With six points from two games, Guatemala has sealed up the top spot in the group and will play the second-place team in Group A next week to earn a place in the Beijing Olympics.
Canada looked to build on the momentum of their tie versus Mexico, scoring against a disorganized Haitian defense in only the 18th minute. Kyle Hall had an excellent run down the right side, where he sent in a sliding pass to a trailing Tyler Rosenlund, who struck the ball first-time into the net.
Rosenlund was filling in for a suspended Will Johnson, who was given a yellow card in the last match. He did well in the first half of play.
"Tyler scored a goal tonight in the run of play," Canadian coach Nick Dasovic noted. "Will Johnson was a big part of our team and it's always hard when you're missing a player like that."
However, a physical Haiti team worked their way into the match and began to combine better through the midfield.
Haiti's tying goal fell under a bit of controversy. As a Canadian player was injured, his teammates put the ball out of play. Dasovic indicated that his players expected to receive the ball in return, as is the tradition in soccer. Instead, Haiti played the ball.
Fabrice Noel laid the ball off on the right side of the box to Leonel Saint-Preux, who knocked the ball to an open Alain Gustave, who was entering from the top of the area. Gustave kicked the ball straight into the goal past Joshua Wagenaar.
Dasovic was upset that "fair play" had not been demonstrated.
"We weren't ready," Dasovic said. "We trusted them to play fair."
Haiti took heart at having tied the match and was soon pressing for the lead against a visibly weary Canadian team.
"The Haitian team had a strong team physically," Dasovic said. "If you're not fit, you can't play this game. I think a lot of our players are finding that out this tournament."
The winning goal was a stunner of a shot. Saint-Preux fired a shot from about 40 yards out, catching Wagenaar just slightly off his line. The bending ball cleared the goalkeeper and slipped under the crossbar into the side netting.
"We played aggressively because we had to," said Haitian coach Wilner Etienne. "We lost the first match, so we had to win this one. We're going to go after the win versus Mexico [in the final group game] as well."
Haiti's players were thrilled with their comeback victory, none more so than the hero of the game, Saint-Preux.
"I had missed an earlier chance at goal and I knew I had to make up for it," said Saint-Preux. "I was so glad to be able to do that."
Guatemala 2, Mexico 1
In the second game, Mexico scored within the first 10 minutes of the match versus Guatemala. El Tri set a blistering pace early on, putting the Guatemalan defense on their heels. That may have contributed to the goal in the ninth minute, because a botched clearance by the defense in Guatemala's box resulted in a free ball in the area. Edgar Castillo pounced on the opportunity and fired a hard shot into the net.
It seemed likely that Mexico would add to their goal total, as they controlled the majority of the possession and advanced deep into Guatemalan territory repeatedly. Enrique Esqueda had a clear chance at goal but put his shot a bit wide.
Guatemala's faltering defense solidified as the match went on, however. Late in the first half, the team quickly created a counter after a Mexico corner kick was cleared. Jean Marquez sent a sublime throughball into open space for Carlos Villa. In full stride, Villa chased down the ball and closed in on the Mexican goal. Guillermo Ochoa came out to challenge for the ball, but Villa calmly slipped it to the 'keeper's left and into the goal.
The second half saw Mexico again control the majority of the play, despite Guatemala's defensive improvement.
A goal seemed sure to fall in the 53rd minute, when Julio Dominguez knocked a chip header over Jerez, but Wilson Lalin cleared the ball off the line to prevent the Mexican goal.
"We're a strong team mentally," said midfielder Jose Manuel Contreras, who orchestrated many of Guatemala's best opportunities. "We knew we were capable of this result and we did what we had to do to reach it."
After weathering a host of attacks by Mexico, it was Guatemala who put together the winning play off a corner kick in the 67th minute. Marco Papa served in the ball beautifully and Maynor Lopez then powered a header into the roof of the goal.
"I'm so glad to see my team play the way they can," said Guatemalan coach Rodrigo Kentin. "They overcame every obstacle."
Guatemala narrowly missed out on an opportunity to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Kentin acknowledged that reaching the Olympics was a major goal of the team.
"If we manage that, it would mean we've reached an important objective," said Kentin.
Mexico, meanwhile, is faced with the clear possibility of not qualifying, though the team represented CONCACAF in the last Olympics. At the minimum, El Tri must defeat Haiti in the final match to have a chance to advance. Mexico has one point, tied with Canada for third place in the group, while Haiti has three. A draw between Haiti and Mexico would put Haiti into the semifinals; even if Mexico win, it could come down to goal differential depending on the result between Canada and Guatemala.
Yet Hugo Sanchez, Mexico's coach, insisted that his team had not played badly.
"We had more opportunities to score than Guatemala did," Sanchez pointed out. He blamed the inability of players to finish well partly on pressure from the media and the public.
Still, Sanchez asserted that the squad would perform more aggressively than ever in their final group match. Luis Angel Landin, suspended for this game for a red card against Canada, will return to play versus Haiti.
"We're under fire," said Sanchez. "We have to show what this team is capable of and go out and attack."
Andrea Canales is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
