Jamaica’s win over El Salvador last night at FIU Stadium in Miami, FL gave the Reggae Boyz third place in Group A of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Luton Shelton’s cross from the left side of the penalty area to the front of the box allowed Colorado Rapids striker Omar Cummings re-directed the ball on goal with one touch and secure the win for the defending Caribbean champions.
Earlier in the evening, Canada continued their magnificent run in the Gold Cup by topping Group A courtesy a 2-2 tie with Costa Rica. The Canucks had previously beat Jamaica and El Salvador while the Ticos lost their opener to El Salvador before notching a win against Jamaica.
Cameroonian-born striker Ali Gerba scored for the second straight game to give Group A leaders Canada a 1-0 win over El Salvador on Tuesday in CONCACAF Gold Cup. The win almost assures Canada of a spot in the quarter-final round of the tournament.
Celso Borges’ 64th minute goal gave Costa Rica a 1-0 win over Jamaica in the other CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A match on Tuesday night.
Borges got under a low crossing pass from substitute Pablo Herrera to knockg the ball beneath the outstrectched arm of goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
Costa Rica faces Canada while winless Jamaica must beat El Salvador on Friday to have any hopes of advancing out of the group stage as a third placed team.
Osael Romero scored two goals, including the winner in the 86th minute, to give El Salvador a surprise 2-1 victory over Costa Rica in Group A at the Gold Cup on Friday night.
In the other Group A match, striker Ali Gerba scored from a side volley for the only goal in a match in which Canada beat Jamaica 1-0 at the Home Depot Center.
The finals of the 2008 Digicel Caribbean Championships (formerly known as the Digicel Caribbean Cup, Copa Caribe, Shell Caribbean Cup, Shell/Umbro Caribbean Cup, Interforever Caribbean Cup and Caribbean Nations Cup) have been on for the past week in sunny Jamaica. It’s now down to the semi-final stage featuring the hosts, Cuba, Guadeloupe and surprising Jamaica. Regional powerhouses Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated in the group stage of the finals. It should be noted that all of the teams in the tournament are missing their European-based players since this tournament does not occur on officially-sanctioned FIFA dates.
The Jamaica-Guadeloupe semi-final will be aired live on Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) at 8:00 PM ET on Thursday night. The final will air on FSC at 6:00 PM ET on Sunday evening.
Here’s the lowdown on what has happened in the tournament so far and some video from it.
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