TAMPA, Fla. — A second-half penalty kick goal from Dwayne De Rosario was all Canada needed to top Guadeloupe, 1-0, in a lackluster affair in Group C action in the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday.
The Gwada Boys found themselves down a man in just the third minute after Jean-Luc Lambourde was shown a red for a studs-up challenge on Will Johnson just outside the Guadeloupe penalty area. It was the second consecutive match in which the Caribbean nation went down to 10-men.
The goal for Canada, however, didn’t come until the 51st minute. Canada were awarded a penalty kick after Stephane Zubar pulled dangerous Canadian striker Ali Gerba down from behind in the area. De Rosario made no mistake with his finish, slotting it home on the right side.
The win keep’s Canada’s chances of advancement to the knockout stage clearly intact, while Guadeloupe will need a win against Panama and some help from other teams in other groups to get through.
Before the fans had even found their seats, the Canadians were in the driver’s seat. Lambourde’s sending off left the Canucks content to keep possession and make their opponents chase the ball. Their patience on the ball led to some pretty build up play, pinning Guadeloupe in their own half for much of the opening 45 minutes.
Gerba thought he had opened the scoring in the 15th minute, but his swift turn-and-chip past 'keeper Franck Grandel was ruled offside by the assistant referee. It was Gerba again with another chance in the 33rd minute, but he scuffed it wide after receiving a pass from Josh Simpson inside the six-yard box.
After a long stretch in which both teams seemed to slow the pace down to a standstill, Canadian defender Mike Klukowski nearly put his side ahead a couple of minutes before halftime. The left back was on the end of a give-and-go sequence that saw him burst into the area, but his shot went just wide of Grandel’s right post.
Despite being a man down, the Gwada Boys came out of the break the fresher of the two teams. David Fleurival forced Canadian ‘keeper Milan Borjan into a close-range save less than a minute after the re-start.
The pressure wouldn’t help Guadeloupe, however, and they went down to De Rosario’s penalty in the 51st minute.
The goal brought about more tentative play from both sides, as neither team could muster up anything very threatening for the remainder of the match.
The Canadians next face Panama in Kansas City on Tuesday, while Guadeloupe take on the USA.
SCORING SUMMARY:
Dwayne De Rosario, 51’ (PK)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY:
Jean-Luc Lambourde, 3’ (Ejection)
Stephane Zubar, 50’ (Caution)
Terry Dunfield, 85’ (Caution)
Livio Nabab, 90’ (Caution)
LINEUPS:
Canada: Milan Borjan; Nik Ledgerwood, Andre Hainault, Kevin McKenna, Mike Klukowski; Terry Dunfield, Julian de Guzman (Pedro Pacheco, 81’), Will Johnson, Josh Simpson, Dwayne De Rosario (Simeon Jackson, 63’); Ali Gerba (Rob Friend, 63’)
Subs not used: Lars Hirschfeld, Jaime Peters, Jonathan Beaulieu-Borgault, Tosaint Ricketts
Guadeloupe: Franck Grandel, Miguel Comminges, Stephane Zubar, Eddy Viator, David Fleurival (Loic Loval, 57’), Thery Racon (Julien Ictoi, 65’), Thomas Gamiette, Jean-Luc Lambourde, Brice Jovial, Stephane Auvray, Richard Socrier (Livio Nabab, 73’)
Subs not used: Fabrice Mercury, Ulick Lupede, Ludovic Gotin, Cedric Collet
Referee: Trevor Taylor (BRB)
Assistant Referees: Adrian Goddard, Gerson Lopez
Fourth Official: Marlon Mejia (SLV)
