HexagonalBlog

T&T in Argentina

The UNCAF Cup and the friendlies involving the USA and Mexico have taken up most of the attention this week, but T&T have been busy as well.  They are currently in Argentina for a pre-Hexagonal training camp which includes some matches against first-division sides in preseason.  So far, they've drawn 1-1 against Argentinos Juniors and defeated Quilmes and Tigre by 3-0 and 3-2, respectively.  I thought they were going to play a friendly against Chile on 24 January, but I believe that match has been cancelled.

SocaWarriors has more details on the T&T tour.

UNCAF Cup: Semifinal #2 (Panama to the final!)

The second semifinal between the host nation Honduras and Panama is being played right now.  Panama has taken a surprise 1-0 lead into halftime, thanks to a long-range strike by Ricardo Phillips on 38 minutes.  Honduras have had more of the possession but Panama have looked dangerous when they embark on counterattacks.  The crowd in Tegucigalpa has been loud and the intensity level hasn't dipped despite the Panamanian goal. 

I'll make an update at the end of the second half.

UPDATE:  Panama have done it!  Honduras had most of the possession, but Panama blocked, scrapped, deflected, and saved  in order to preserve the win.  It looked like one of those days when Honduras would dominate on the field yet lose the game thanks to one critical lapse, deflection, or stroke of luck.  It seems to happen quite a bit to Honduras at the wrong time.

So on Sunday, Panama will play Costa Rica in a repeat of the 2007 UNCAF final, won by Costa Rica on penalties.   Costa Rica will be going for their seventh Central American title, and they have a very good chance of achieving that.

UNCAF Cup: Fallout in Guatemala

Guatemala's disastrous performance in the UNCAF Cup has consequences.  It remains to be seen whether manager Benjamín Monterrroso will stay in his position, but if this report from Guatefutbol.com is accurate, the entire technical staff of the national team will be out of a job very soon.  Monterroso had said before the Nicaragua match that he would resign if Guatemala lost, yet in the aftermath of his team's defeat said that he would not resign.

It looks like the Federation will carry out Monterroso's promise.  It remains to be seen if any Federation directors will get the chop as well.

UPDATE: Monterroso has resigned, upon his return to Guatemala.  Oscar Arroyo, head of the Federation, has not and said that he will not.

Costa Rica to the UNCAF final

Costa Rica have advanced to the final of the UNCAF Nations Cup, but their semifinal match against El Salvador has finished in bizarre fashion.  El Salvador were reduced to ten men in the 14th minute when Alexander Escobar received a straight red card from Panamanian referee Roberto Moreno for elbowing Costa Rican midfielder Pablo Herrera.  The commentators on ESPN Deportes did not think that Escobar had actually thrown an elbow, but in the end he was gone, and Salvadoran playmaker Eliseo Quintanilla was booked for protesting Moreno's decision.  That would be a critical moment for El Salvador.

[UPDATE 1940: I just saw some video highlights, and it was a harsh challenge but I couldn't tell if there was an elbow involved.  At least a yellow, but a red I'm not sure about.]

Costa Rica took the lead through Andy Furtado's goal on 18 minutes, and then Quintanilla managed to get himself sent off seven minutes later.  Trying to win a penalty, he dove flailed inside the penalty area but his only reward was a second yellow card.  Why the captain and playmaker, already on a yellow card, would attempt to fake a foul in the penalty area is beyond my understanding. 

Carlos de los Cobos made two substitutions at halftime which, combined with a substitution made in the 20th minute, exhausted all of El Salvador's substitutions.  Five minutes later one of their players pulled up lame and had to withdraw, then five minutes after that two more players had to be carried off on a stretcher.  The match can't continue if there are less than seven players on the field, so the match was finished. 

The Costa Rican press  is going ballistic right now, calling El Salvador's performance "shameful" and doubting the veracity of the Salvadoran players' injuries.   It looks like Costa Rica may be awarded a 3-0 victory, but I'm not sure.

The next semifinal, between Honduras and Panamá, should start in about 15 minutes (0200 GMT).

Nicaragua makes history, advances to the Gold Cup

Nicaragua have achieved the biggest result in their footballing history after defeating Guatemala 2-0 to advance to the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time.  The hero was Real Estelí's Samuel Wilson, who scored in the 39th minute of the first half and the 39th minute of the second half. 

What's good and what's bad about David Beckham

I haven't written anything about David Beckham's loan move (and possible permanent transfer) to AC Milan, mostly because it sparked a flood of disparate emotions that I needed to sort through in order to write a coherent post.   I still haven't worked through all of them completely, but this post needs to be written, so here it is.

UNCAF Cup, Day 6 (The end of the group phase)

The group phase of the UNCAF Nations Cup concluded tonight with Panama facing Guatemala in Group B.   Panama won 1-0 on a goal by Alberto Zapata on 31 minutes.  The press reports said that they played most of the match with ten men, but those reports didn't say who and how.

So Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama have confirmed their places in this summer's Gold Cup.  The field at Estadio Nacional will get 48 hours to heal, and then Guatemala will face off against Nicaragua on Thursday for fifth place and the final place in the Gold Cup.  The semifinals on Friday look like these:

Honduras vs. Panama
Costa Rica vs. El Salvador

The third-place match and the final will be played on Sunday.

UNCAF Cup, Day 5

Day 5 of the UNCAF Cup sees the conclusion of proceedings in Group A.  Earlier tonight, Nicaragua surprisingly drew 1-1 against Belize.  I say it was a surprise because Nicaragua played so well against El Salvador and Honduras.  Harrison Roches took the lead for Belize on 18 minutes, and Juan Barrera scored Nicaragua's equalizer on 68 minutes.  This result confirmed El Salvador's place in the Gold Cup, and puts Nicaragua in the Gold Cup playoff against the loser of Guatemala vs. Panama (or Panama if that match ends in a draw).

The second match, the old derby between El Salvador and Honduras, is being played right now.  Honduras have a 2-0 lead in the late stages of the second half, on goals by Carlos Pavón (penalty) and Marvin Chávez.

UNCAF Cup, Day 4

Costa Rica confirmed their appearance at this summer's Gold Cup by thumping Guatemala 3-1 in Tegucigalpa.  Both teams missed chances to take the lead midway through the first half when Costa Rica's Andy Hurtado shot a penalty high over the bar and Guatemala's Marco Pappa saw his penalty saved by Ricardo González.  Guatemala were reduced to ten men when Carlos Gallardo received his second yellow card, and that act coupled with a tactical error by the Guatemalan coach, changed the game.

Alvaro Sánchez made a great individual effort to put Costa Rica in the lead, but Guatemala equalized through Campollo's header six minutes into the second half.  Costa Rica regained the lead five minutes later through Pablo Herrera's effort on the second attempt, and extended it a couple of minutes later when Roberto Segura's shot was deflected by Guatemala's Jaime Vídes into his own net.  Those two goals finished off the contest, and the only event of significance was Guatemala being reduced to nine men when Carlos Castillo saw a straight red for a harsh challenge on Sánchez.

Guatemala have a second chance to qualify for the Gold Cup when they play Panama on Tuesday night.  Group A will conclude tomorrow night when Honduras face El Salvador and Nicaragua play Belize.

UNCAF Cup, Day 3

Today was a day of routs in the UNCAF Nations Cup, but of two different kinds.

El Salvador defeated a feeble Belize side 4-1 to clinch a spot in the last four and practical qualification to the CONCACAF Gold Cup.  El Salvador grabbed the lead by converting two penalties in the first half, then wrapped it up in the late stages after Jeromi James pulled one back for Belize. 

Honduras recovered from their stuttering start against Belize and routed Nicaragua 4-1.  At least that's what the final score said, but in reality the Hondurans were jolted into a higher gear after Nicaragua equalized through Armando Reyes.   The catrachos could have easily panicked, but they didn't and imposed themselves in the second half.  So both sides could leave happy -- Honduras that they had clinched a spot in the Gold Cup, and Nicaragua that they held firm and didn't fall apart (the last time these two played each other in 2001, Nicaragua allowed ten Honduran goals).

The action shifts to Group B on Sunday as Guatemala faces Costa Rica.  A point will secure Costa Rica's place in the semifinals and the Gold Cup.  In addition to the match, the ticos will have to deal with the theft of their belongings at the official hotel (cash, computers, and passports stolen).