FORT de FRANCE – Two goals in the final six minutes earned Costa Rica a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over Martinique in Group B of League A of the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League on Saturday night at the Stade Pierre-Aliker in Fort-de-France, Martinique.
The Ticos were staring at a 1-0 deficit and elimination from the CNL Finals with just minutes remaining, but got late goals from Aaron Suarez and Anthony Contreras to set up a final matchday showdown with Panama.
Costa Rica are one point behind their Central American rivals in the group standings, but can advance to the CNL finals with a win on Tuesday in San Jose.
The result also qualifies Costa Rica for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup and confirms Martinique’s place in the Gold Cup Prelims.
The game’s first goal would come for Martinique in the 18’ and it was in stunning fashion, as Cyril Mandouki fed a pass into Mickael Biron, whose first touch went through the legs of the defender and the second was a strong hit into net for a 1-0 Martinique lead.
But things quickly turned complicated for Martinique, as the goalscorer Biron was sent off in the 35’ for a rough challenge, leaving the Caribbean hosts down to 10 men the rest of the way.
Costa Rica went to work to try to take advantage of the sending off and came close in the 47’ on a long-range strike from Josimar Alcocer that Martinique GK Yannis Clementia parried wide.
In the 67’ it took the post to prevent Contreras from finding the tying goal in the 67’. That was followed two minutes later by Clementia tipping wide a deflected Joel Campbell effort.
Costa Rica’s efforts finally paid off in the 88’ when Suhander Zuniga cut a pass back to Aaron Suarez, who one-timed into net to even the score at 1-1.
There was still time for the Ticos to find a winner and it arrived in the 90+2’ with the play starting again through Zuniga, who played across to Kendall Waston and the chested effort glancing off the crossbar but Contreras was there to clean it up with an overhead kick into goal for the dramatic 2-1 win.
