E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. - If the first three days of the 2007 tournament are any indication, this could be the Gold Cup for the little guys. Already tiny Guadeloupe and Panama have recorded points, but a win by Cuba over CONCACAF power Mexico in both team's Group C opener would have certainly sent shockwaves throughout the region, perhaps even the world.
The impossible suddenly seemed plausible Friday night at Giants Stadium when Reynier Alcantara blasted the ball past Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 22nd minute. Against all odds and against the flow of play, Cuba, which has just one win in its Gold Cup history - a 2-0 victory over Canada in 2003 that sent them to the quarterfinals - remarkably had a 1-0 lead.
The goal energized the 20,230 fans Giants Stadium, including the large Honduran contingent remaining from the opening game who began to cheer for the heavy underdogs, chanting "Cu-ba, Cu-ba."
Could it be? Could Cuba hold on for 68 minutes and pull off what would arguably be the biggest upset in the history of the Gold Cup?
No.
Mexico, which dominated until the Cuban goal, maintained control of the match and walked away with a 2-1 victory despite the early scare in Hugo Sanchez's competitive managerial debut. If anything, Mexico avoided what surely would have been a whirlwind of negative press at home, especially coming off a shocking 1-0 loss to Paraguay Tuesday in Mexico City, which was only El Tri's second loss at Azteca since 1981.
Stunned by the deficit, Nery Castillo nearly leveled for the Tricolores, but Cuban goalkeeper Odelin Molina touched the lob off the crossbar before a Cuban defender cleared the ball off the line. Moments later, Castillo had another chance, but the Olympiakos striker saw his shot deflect out for a corner kick.
The sleeping giant finally awoke before the half, with Jared Borgetti, who earlier had a header cleared off the line, heading Adolfo Bautista's cross past Molina in the 38th minute. The Cruz Azul star beat the Cuban offside trap to level for the Mexicans, which saw many of its stars sit, including Chicago Fire striker Cuauhtémoc Blanco, PSV defender Carlos Salcido and Club Santos goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez on the bench for what was expected to be an easy win.
Then a gaffe by Molina in the 56th minute put Mexico in front for good. Jose Fonseca, who came on for Bautista at the start of the second half, took Pavel Pardo's through ball and fired at goal. But Molina spilled the shot and Nery Castillo swept in to put the rebound in the net to give the four-time Gold Cup champions a 2-1 lead.
Cuba threatened on the hour mark when Pedro Faife cut the ball back from the end line past Ochoa. But no one was there to receive the cross and Pardo was able to clear the ball away from danger.
Fonseca nearly added an insurance goal in the 79th minute, but his header was saved by Molina, who was momentarily shaken up on the play. Moments earlier, Molina played with danger and was nearly guilty of handling the ball outside of the 18-yard box but referee Joel Aguilar let the teams play on.
Mexico, which joins arch-rival United States as the only two teams to have never failed to advance out of the first round, will meet Honduras, which fell to Panama, 2-1 in the opening game of Friday's doubleheader. Cuba will take on Panama in the other Group C match Sunday afternoon at Giants Stadium.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
