Carlos Costly scored two second-half goals -- including the winner in injury time -- to lift Honduras over four-time champion Mexico 2-1 on Sunday and revive its hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Both of Costly's goals came after Mexico was reduced to 10 men in the 49th minute when Cuauhtemoc Blanco was expelled for elbowing defender Samuel Caballero in front of the Honduran goal as the two jostled for position awaiting a Mexican corner kick. Caballero nudged Blanco, who reacted with an elbow to the Honduran's midsection.
Caballero immediately fell and Costa Rican referee Walter Quezada consulted with his linesman before retrieving his red card from his back pocket.
PHOTO: AFP
Costly equalized in the 60th, running on to a pass from Amado Guevara that nearly reached the byline and hitting a left-footed shot into the far-side netting. He headed the winner 16 seconds into injury time off a cross from Emilio Izaguirre, leaving Mexican goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez flat-footed.
"Honduras can't dream yet about winning the Gold Cup," Costly said. "This is historic. I'm elated about the victory, but we have to keep our feet on the ground."
The loss was the third in eight games -- and first in a competitive match -- for Mexican manager Hugo Sanchez, who complained bitterly about the natural grass field at Giants Stadium after Friday night's 2-1 victory over Cuba.
"The key was Blanco's expulsion," Sanchez said. "They were provoking him the whole game. On the corner, they spat on him. They were intelligent and he fell into the trap."
The result left Honduras and Mexico both with three points, one behind Group C leader Panama, which drew 2-2 with Cuba later on Sunday.
It was Honduras manager Reinaldo Rueda's second victory over Mexico in the Gold Cup.
"It was a beautiful result, but now it's history and we have to start thinking about Cuba," Rueda said.
Group C play moves to Houston tomorrow when Mexico faces Panama and Honduras takes on Cuba.
Two teams from each of the three groups advance along with the two best third-place teams.
While hardly dominant, Mexico controlled the match until Blanco's expulsion. But the goal by Costly, who also scored in injury time in Friday's loss, invigorated the Hondurans and the Giants Stadium crowd of 68,123, which was evenly split between Mexican and Honduran fans.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The world leader extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October. Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against
When Paddy Dwyer arrived in China in 1976, crowds jostled to catch a glimpse of him and his companions — the first Western soccer team to play in the country. China was emerging from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, and on the brink of market reforms that would take the country from economic stagnation to explosive growth. “All we could see was lines of people running beside our bus, trying to look in the windows, to see their first visual of a white person,” he said. “It was all bicycles,” he said. “There were very few cars to be seen.” Dwyer,
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
RSS