An opportunistic attack and sleepy first-half defense made the difference in the Group C opener in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Thursday, as Trinidad and Tobago beat Guatemala 3-1 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The two sides, expected to compete for second place in the group, came into the game seemingly evenly matched, but Trinidad and Tobago grabbed a big lead early and weathered an improved effort from the Guatemalans in the second half to hold on for an impressive victory.
There were current MLS representatives on both sides, as the San Jose Earthquakes' Cordell Cato, Chicago Fire's Joevin Jones and Columbus Crew SC's Kevan George got the starting nod in Trinidad and Tobago's midfield, while Guatemala featured Seattle Sounders attacker Marco Pappa and a pair of defenders, FC Dallas' Moises Hernandez and Real Salt Lake's Elias Vasquez, from the opening whistle.
Both teams started the game with a sense of urgency, but it was Trinidad and Tobago who took the lead, in the 11th minute, and only got stronger from there. Khaleem Hyland sent a corner kick into the box and Sheldon Bateau found space and redirected the corner into the net.
Just four minutes later, Cato doubled the Soca Warriors' lead, as he battled for a header just outside Guatemala's box and kept after the ball, eventually gaining possession, beating Guatemalan goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez, and slotting the ball at a tight angle into the empty net.
Jones added to the total in the 26th minute. Attempting to set up Cato on an attack, the Chicago Fire man continued his run into the box and latched onto the deflection from Jerez to bury the chance and make it 3-0.
Guatemala came out of the break with renewed purpose and put Trinidad and Tobago under considerable pressure in the second half, but the Caribbean side kept bodies behind the ball and preserved their shutout until the hour mark. But former MLS striker Carlos Ruiz took a pass down in the box in the 62nd minute and slammed it home to put Guatemala on the board.
The goal seemed to wake the winning team up, and possession became more even. The match became more physical on both sides as well, and referee John Pitti handed out five yellow cards in the second half.
Ruiz had an excellent opportunity to grab his second goal in the 78th minute, as Jose Contreras sent a diagonal cross into the box, but Ruiz could not latch onto the chance and finish it. The Central Americans had a few more chances in the game's dying moments, but could not capitalize on them to pull back a draw.
Trinidad and Tobago next face Cuba in group play, on Sunday (6:30 pm ET, FOX Sports 2/UDN in US, Sportsnet in Canada), while Guatemala will have a border battle against one of the tournament favorites, Mexico, also on Sunday (9 pm ET, FOX Sports 2/Univision/UDN in US, SN World in Canada).
