MIAMI, Florida – Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic ended their 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup on a positive note with a 2-1 victory over Harbour View of Jamaica in their Group B finale on Thursday night at the Estadio Cibao in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
With the result, Harbour View advance to the semifinals as the second-place team in Group B with seven points, while Cibao finish in third place with four points.
Despite being eliminated, Cibao came out ready to battle and broke the deadlock in the 23’ when a free kick played into the area was flicked away with a defensive header, but the ball landed right to Yohan Parra, who swung in a shot past Harbour View GK Romario Palma for a 1-0 Cibao lead.
The momentum was with Cibao and on the half-hour mark Carlos Heredia was fouled in the Harbour View area, resulting in a penalty. Heredia coolly converted the spot kick, doubling the Cibao advantage to 2-0.
Harbour View were stunned but came to life toward the end of the half and Shaquiel Bradford turned in a rebound right before halftime to bring the visiting Jamaicans to within 2-1.
Harbour View kept the pressure on in the second half and Cibao GK Christopher Gonzalez somehow prevented an equalizer with a reaction save in the 72’.
In the end though, the Cibao defense held the line the rest of the way to nail down the victory.
