Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 23, 2010 Sports
Grenada opened another DCC campaign hoping to go one better than their 2008 runner up position by beating Group A winners Puerto Rico by a 3-1 score line in Grenada yesterday.
Both teams started well with Grenada looking very lively up front with Modeste and Charles causing untold damage with their strong physical presence.
The vocal supporters of the Spice Isle Boys thought they may have opened the scoring on 18 minutes when Shane Rennie hit a thunderous shot from the right that flew past the post.
Puerto Rico were not to be outdone and on 25 minutes Feigenbaum and Rivera combined well to set up Hector Ramos whose header drifted right of the post.
A minute before half time and the home side finally broke the deadlock. A long ball from the half way line found Keithson Bain who controlled well, came inside onto his right foot, and smashed the ball past Perez to send the Grenadian fans into hysterics.
What should have been a commanding half time break for Grenada ended in controversy when substitute Ian Perrotte, on the pitch only 6 minutes, was sent off for an off the ball incident in injury time at the end of the first half.
Puerto Rican coach Adrian Whitbread was forced into making a few tactical changes to try and get that elusive equalizer but his tactics backfired when on 66 minutes keeper Perez fouled Modeste on the edge of the box resulting in yet another early shower for a keeper in the opening day of Group E.
With all three substitutes having been used Rivera was forced to swap his outfield jersey for the keepers’ shirt, and as was the case in the opening game of this group, his first action was to pick the ball out of the net.
Having already opened the scoring for Grenada, Keithson Bain stepped up and smashed an unstoppable free kick from the edge of the box and into the roof of the Puerto Rican net.
As Puerto Rico came forward in search of a goal with Hector Ramos seeing his header rebound off the post, Grenada swept forward and made it 3-0 on 80 minutes when Ricky Charles ran onto a through ball from Marc Marshall to slot under the advancing keeper.
Puerto Rico responded immediately when substitute midfielder Isaac Nieves hit possibly the goal of the tournament when his 30 yard pile driver flew into the top corner breaking Noel’s hopes for a clean sheet and almost breaking the net in the same instance.
As the light drew to a close on this idyllic setting for Caribbean football, the two sides saw out the last 9 minutes with no further scoring to the delight of the home crowd and to leave the hosts sitting pretty and top of Group E in the Digicel Cup after one game.
Guadeloupe opened Group E with a hard fought win over luckless St Kitts and Nevis in the opening game.
Guadeloupe started brightly and, while the hot sun shone down for this early kick off, they obviously wanted to expend their energy and get some early dividends.
After Valerius had brought the best out of Byron in the Kitts goal early on with a strong hand to turn over a scorching shot from 18 yards, the Kittitian keeper was beaten on 12 minutes when Gendrey met a beautiful pass across the box from skipper Auvray to give Byron no chance as his right footed shot nestled into the bottom right corner of the St Kitts & Nevis net.
On 26 minutes Guadeloupe were reduced to 10 men after referee Trevor Taylor sent Clavier for an early shower after his rash two footed challenge on Williams gave the Barbados official little choice but to pull a straight red from his back pocket.
The second half began as the first ended with St Kitts in the ascendancy. Isaac should have leveled things when on 49 minutes the little magician wiggled into the box and down the left side only to see his shot roll harmlessly across goal and the wrong side of the right hand post.
The pressure finally told on 83 minutes when Lake was fouled from behind and Francis finally put the ball past Bus from the 12 yard spot to level the game at 1-1.
As if orchestrated from the start, Guadeloupe then came rushing out for the final 6 minutes and went in search of the winner after keeping St Kitts at bay for the past 70 minutes of play.
A long ball from the back caught the St Kitts defence flat and asleep and when keeper Byron used his hand to block Collet’s attempted lob 28 yards from his own goal, referee Taylor had little option but to brandish a straight red for the second time in this match and bring both teams down to ten men.
With all three subs having been used up left back Isaac had to don the keepers shirt and hope to keep a “clean sheet” for the last 4 minutes of the game.
But, as fate would have it, his first action was to pick the ball out of the net after Jean Luc Lambourde blasted the resulting free kick from the sending off into the bottom left corner of the net.
Guadeloupe may thank their coach for some shrewd tactical substitutions but mostly their stalwart keeper and man-of-the-match Yohan Bus for the 3 points and a great start to Group E of the Digicel Caribbean Cup.
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