Martinique kept their slim hopes of advancing out of Group A alive, defeating 10-man Cuba, 3-0, at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Wednesday night.
Both teams suffered lopsided defeats on the opening night of the Gold Cup Saturday with Martinique losing to Canada, 4-0, and Cuba drubbed by Mexico, 7-0. With their second defeat, Cuba was eliminated from advancing to the quarterfinals.
Martinique jumped in front just before halftime on a set piece as Joris Marveaux latched onto Kevin Fortune’s corner kick and guided his open header inside the far post.
In similar fashion, Les Matinino doubled their lead in the 70th minute when an unmarked Stephane Abaul headed in another Fortune corner kick from the edge of the six-yard box.
Fortune closed the scoring six minutes from full time, taking a filthy backheel from Parsemain and slotting past hard-luck Sanchez.
Earlier in the second half, Martinique had a golden chance to tack onto their lead in the 59th minute when Parsemain stepped to the penalty spot after Daniel Luis pulled back Mickael Biron in the box. But Parsemain skied his attempt well over the crossbar, keeping the Lions of the Caribbean momentarily alive.
Sanchez, who was solid in defeat, came up big in the 69th minute, getting a piece of Johnny Marajo’s breakaway attempt. But Cuba paid dearly for poor marking on the corner kick and finished the match with 10 men after Erick Rizo was sent off for his second bookable offense.
Goals
- 45’ — MTQ — Joris Marveaux
- 70’ — MTQ — Stephane Abaul
- 84’ — MTQ — Kevin Fortune
Three Things
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: Fortune had the clinical finish, but how about the
joie de vivre
from Parsemain on the assist.
Next Up
- CUB: Sunday, June 23 vs. Canada (6 pm ET | FS2, Univision, UDN, TSN 1/3, FOX Sports GO)
- MTQ: Sunday, June 23 vs. Mexico (8:30 pm ET | FS1, Univision, UDN, TSN 1/3, FOX Sports GO)
