Gold Cup: Trinidad top group after thrilling 4-4 draw

Cuba end tournament goal-drought with 1-0 win over holders US

CHARLOTTE: Trinidad and Tobago left it late to salvage a 4-4 draw against Mexico that secured top spot in Group C of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Wednesday as both teams scored in stoppage time at the end of a thrilling encounter.

The game was locked at 3-3 after 90 minutes before Mexico appeared to have snatched a victory that would see 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 equaliser from a corner kick seconds before the final whistle in the match played at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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 2009 and 2011, finished on five points and advanced to take on Costa Rica in the second game at the same venue on Sunday.

Cuba downs US to reach quarter-finals

Cuba defied the odds and booked a berth in the Gold Cup quarter-finals against regional powerhouse US with a 1-0 win over Guatemala in their final game of the group stage.

Maikel Reyes scored with a perfectly-timed header as the short-handed Cubans overcame a disastrous start to the tournament which saw them besieged by goals.

Cuba gave up eight goals in their first two contests, including a 6-0 rout in the opener to Mexico.

They suffered the embarrassment of having two players, Keiler Garcia and Arael Arguellez, go missing and they are believed to have defected.

Cuba are also without midfielder Arichel Hernandez, who has had visa problems.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th,  2015.

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