Trinidad and Tobago left it late to salvage a 4-4 draw against Mexico, securing top spot in Group C of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Wednesday as both teams scored in time added on in a thrilling encounter.
The game was locked at 3-3 after 90 minutes before Mexico appeared to snatch a victory that would have seen them top the group when Trinidadian striker Kenwyne Jones scored an own-goal in the first minute of added time.
However, Trinidad and Tobago responded well when Yohance Marshall rose to head home an equalizer from a corner seconds before the final whistle at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Photo: USA Today
The draw enabled Trinidad and Tobago to finish top of the group on seven points, setting up a quarter-final against Panama in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday.
Mexico, Gold Cup champions in 2011 and 2009, finished on five points and face Costa Rica in the second game at the same venue on Sunday.
Mexico started well and led 2-0 after 51 minutes when Paul Aguilar and Carlos Vela scored either side of halftime before Trinidad and Tobago rallied to take the lead with Keron Cummings netting twice and Jones once in a 12-minute spell.
Cummings’ second goal put Trinidad and Tobago ahead in the 67th minute, but Mexico drew level with an Andres Guardado blast with two minutes of normal time remaining.
In the early game, Maikel Reyes made sure Cuba did not miss the quarter-finals with a header in the 73rd minute to gain a 1-0 win over Guatemala.
They advanced to a quarter-final showdown with the US in Baltimore, Maryland, tomorrow.
Cuba (1-2-0) advanced despite finishing with a minus-7 goal differential in pool play. The only sides among those to advance out of pool play with a negative goal differential were Trinidad and Tobago in 2000 and Cuba in 2013, both with minus-2.
“The goal was important for the team and for me it was extremely important,” Reyes said through an interpreter. “This is a match that will go down in the history of Cuban football.”
Cuba’s first goal of the tournament came when Alberto Gomez sent a crossing pass in the center of the box to Reyes, who headed the ball past Paulo Motta.
Reyes ripped off his jersey in celebration, drawing a yellow card.
“I was very happy because this represented that we were going to win this match,” Reyes said.
Cuba won despite missing four players.
Keiler Garcia and Arael Arguellez defected earlier in the tournament, and Dario Suarez and Aricheel Hernandez were no-shows for this game. Hernandez was among the players who had visa problems before the tournament, but Suarez’s whereabouts could not be confirmed after he was present for the first two games.
Cuba coach Raul Gonzalez had no comment on reports that Suarez had also defected.
“I won’t answer that question,” Gonzalez said through an interpreter. “I’m here to talk about [soccer], not politics.”
Reyes said the US would be a difficult match for Cuba.
“We are just going to keep focused and keep a strong mentality,” Reyes said.
Guatemala finished the tournament 0-2-1.
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