FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique - Troy Smith scored seven minutes into extra time and Jamaica held on with 10 men to beat Grenada 2-1 Friday night, putting the Reggae Boyz in position to a win a third Digicel Caribbean Cup in five years.
Jamaica advanced to Sunday's title match against Guadeloupe, which rallied with a pair of second-half goals to top Cuba 2-1 in the other semifinal.
Guadeloupe's victory sends it to the Caribbean Cup final for the first time and avenged its loss on penalties to Cuba in the 2008 third-place match. All four teams already had clinched berths in next year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Grenada created the first chance, a 30-meter free kick wide, but Jamaica took the lead in the sixth minute when Dane Richards converted from Ryan Johnson's cross for his third goal in four games.
Grenada equalized seven minutes later when Kithson Bain scored for the second time in three matches and fifth in the tournament. Bain settled the ball on the edge of the area without initially appearing dangerous, but spun and scored from 20 meters.
Jamaica had to adjust after the 28 minute when Johnson was forced out of the game due to injury an replaced by Omar Cummings of the recently crowned U.S. Major League Soccer champion Colorado Rapids.
Jamaica still held the majority of possession and chances, outshooting Grenada 20-9 in the match including Cummings' shot in the 48th that had to be cleared off the line by Shannon Phillip.
The Reggae Boyz had chances in the final six minutes by Richards and Smith, but it needed extra time when Rodolph Austin's cross slipped through the area to Smith, who capitalized on the ball at his feet to finish at the far post.
Grenada's chances improved in the 111th minute when Sergio Campbell, who entered the game only five minutes earlier for Richard Edwards, was ejected with a red card. But Grenada, which inserted Curt Rennie and Arkenson Neckles in the first extra period for fresh legs, couldn't exploit the man advantage and wasn't able to avenge its 2-0 loss to Jamaica in the 2008 Caribbean final.
Earlier, Guadeloupe used a partisan crowd of 4,000 to overcome a first-half advantage by Cuba. Reysandri Cervantes scored from Yoel Valencia's free kick in the 35th minute, capitalizing after Guadeloupe goalkeeper Yohann Bus missed an attempted punch.
The Gwada Boys, playing without forward Stephane Auvray, equalized in the 55th minute on a penalty. Cervantes challenged Ludovic Gotin for a high cross into the area, and was called for a foul by Surinamese referee Enrico Wingaarde.
Gregory Gendrey converted for his fourth goal in the Caribbean Cup, sparking end-to-end play that Guadeloupe finally took advantage of when Jean Luc Lamboude scored on a 35-meter free kick that swerved out of the reach of Cuban keeper Odelin Molina in the 78th minute.
The result enabled Guadeloupe to advance past the semifinals for the first time in four tires and pits them against seventh-time finalist Jamaica, which will be seeking its fifth title. The game will be a rematch of the 2008 semifinals, won by Jamaica 2-0.
