HARRISON, New Jersey – Panama took a huge step towards the knockout stage of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup on Friday night, handling Martinique en route to a 2-1 victory.
Panama nearly struck very early in the sixth minute, when Michael Murillo expertly brought down a ball in the box and turned and fired, but his shot skittered just wide.
With a spirited crowd behind them, Los Canaleros kept at it. A ninth minute rip from Jose Fajardo elicited a fine save from Martinique GK Theo De Percin. Martinique did their part to keep their opponents on their toes and had some promising counterattacks, though never seriously threatened.
But despite Panama being firmly in control of the half, neither side were able to get on the board. De Percin finished the first 45 minutes with three quality saves and kept Les Matinino in the game heading into the break.
The second half was a different story. Panama broke through early on, courtesy of a 57th minute header from Fajardo. Eric Davis’ cross was right on the money and found Fajardo at the edge of the six yard box.
Needing a goal, Martinique made some attacking-minded changes, including bringing on Patrick Burner who scored the opener against El Salvador earlier in the week. Los Canaleros pounced on the opportunity, doubling their lead in the 69th minute via a powerful close-range strike from Murillo.
Panama threatened to get a few more, but in the end it was Martinique who got a consolation goal from Karl Fabien in second half stoppage time.
Panama now sit atop Group C with six points from two matches and are in great position to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019. Martinique are still in the hunt, with three points from their two matches.
