Central American U-17: Honduras, Costa Rica remain perfect
Andres Gomez (pictured) celebrates after scoring one of his four goals in Costa Rica's win over Nicaragua in a Central American under-17 qualifier on November 19, 2016, in Pavas, San Jose, Costa Rica. (Photo: Imagenes en Costa Rica)
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Costa Rica (2W-0D-0L, 6 points) and Honduras (2-0-0, 6) moved closer to places in the 2017 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship with wins in a Central American qualifying doubleheader on Saturday at the Estadio Ernesto Rohrmoser.
In the opener, Honduras scored two goals after the break to snap a 1-1 tie and post a 3-1 win over Belize (0-0-2, 0). David Cardona (9’) gave the Hondurans an early 1-0 lead, but Gabriel Ramos converted a 16th minute penalty kick to level for Belize. Patrick Palacios (58’) and Kenneth Martinez (72’) found the back of the net in the second half to give the Catrachos maximum points through two games.
Andres Gomez struck for four goals and Costa Rica made it two wins in as many outings, topping 10-man Nicaragua (0-0-1,), 6-0. Just a minute after Gomez netted his first goal, Nicaragua’s Josep Castillo in the 14th minute after being his second yellow card. Christian Muñoz made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute and Mario Mora extended the advantage seven minutes into the second half with his third goal of the competition. Gomez (60’, 73’, 78’) completed the scoreline with three straight tallies. No player scored more than two goals in a single Central American qualifier two years ago.
The competition, which will be played through November 26, resumes Monday with Belize-El Salvador and Nicaragua-Honduras encounters.
The top three finishers earn berths to the CONCACAF event that is slated to be contested in Panama from April 21-May 7, 2017. In addition to the host, the other eight participating teams are Canada, Cuba, Curacao, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Suriname and the United States.
2016 CENTRAL AMERICAN UNDER-17 QUALIFYING
Estadio Ernesto Rohrmoser -- San Jose, Costa Rica
November 17-26, 2016
November 17, 2016
El Salvador 0, Honduras 2
Carlos Mejia 52’ pen; Jose Canaca 90’+4
Costa Rica 4, Belize 0
Christian Muñoz 7’; Jeurgen Sequeira 46’; Mario Mora 49’, 89’
November 19, 2016
Honduras 3, Belize 1
David Cardona 9’; Patrick Palacios 58’; Kenneth Martinez 72’ / Gabriel Ramos 16’ pen
Costa Rica 6, Nicaragua 0
Andres Gomez 13’, 60’, 73’, 78’; Christian Muñoz 32’; Mario Mora 52’
Costa Rica 2-2-0-0-10-0-6
Honduras 2-2-0-0-5-1-6
El Salvador 1-0-0-1-0-2-0
Belize 2-0-0-2-1-7-0
Nicaragua 1-0-0-1-0-6-0
November 21, 2016
Belize v El Salvador
Nicaragua v Honduras
November 24, 2016
Belize v Nicaragua
Costa Rica v El Salvador
November 26, 2016
El Salvador v Nicaragua
Costa Rica v Honduras