Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis advance in Gold Cup prelims after penalty shootouts
The first round of Gold Cup preliminary matches featured a pair of penalty shootouts at DRV PNK Stadium.
Puerto Rico defeated Suriname 4-3 on penalty kicks Saturday night after the game ended scoreless in regulation. Late Friday night, Saint Kitts and Nevis got two saves from goalkeeper Julani Archibald to eliminate Curacao 3-2 in penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in regulation.
Saint Kitts and Nevis will face French Guiana on Tuesday for a place in the Gold Cup group stage. French Guiana beat Sint Maarten 4-1 on Saturday evening with two goals from Arnold Abelinte and goals by Loic Bell and Thomas Nemouthe.
On Friday night, Curacao scored first on a goal by Jurge Locadia in the 22nd minute and maintained the lead for most of the game. But Tyquan Terrell scored the equalizer for Saint Kitts in the 83rd minute with an assist from Tiqually Williams.
“It was a team effort, we’ve been preparing for two weeks in South Florida, and we gave everything,” Terrell said.
In the earlier games, Guadeloupe cruised past Antigua 5-0 and Martinique beat Saint Lucia 3-1.
Karl Fabien scored the first goal for Martinique, Saint Lucia got the tying goal from Reeco Hackett-Fairchild, and Martinque retook the lead in the 74th minute on a goal by Anthony Brighton Labeau and Patrick Burner sealed the win with five minutes remaining in the game.
Martinique will play Puerto Rico on Tuesday for a spot in Group C alongside Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama. Guadeloupe’s goals were scored by Steve Solvet, Jordan Tell, Steven Davidas, Luther Archimede, and Matthias Phaeton. Guadeloupe will face the winner of Saturday’s late Guyana vs Granada game on Tuesday.
