MIAMI, Florida – The first window of League A matches of the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League came to a close on Tuesday with all of the teams in Group B in action.
Cuba vs. Suriname
The day in Group B began with Cuba edging Suriname 1-0 at the Estadio Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba.
The two teams traded early chances, with Pozo denied early by Suriname GK Warner Hahn in the 2’, followed by Mitchell Te Vrede’s backheel saved by Cuba shot-stopper Raiko Arozarena.
The lone goal of the day came in the 20’ after a mad scramble in midfield ended with Cuba’s Luis Paradela gaining control and feeding Pozo, who blasted a right-footed shot into net for a 1-0 Cuba lead.
Cuba tried to tack on an insurance goal in the second half, with a Paradela header flashing wide in the 68’ and a sliced shot wide from Paradela in the 88’ serving as the best looks.
In the end, Arozarena in the Cuba net did the job the rest of the way to secure the three points for his side.
With the win, Cuba are in second place in the group with four points, while Suriname have one point after two matches.
Jamaica vs. Haiti
Jamaica rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second half to salvage a 2-2 draw with Haiti in an all-Caribbean battle at Independence Park in Kingston as Jamaica host Haiti.
After a pair of early Jamaica chances, Haiti stunned the home fans by taking the lead when a miscue by the Jamaican defense allowed Don Louicius to swoop in and beat Jamaica GK Andre Blake with a tidy left-footed finish for a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later in the 15’ it was suddenly 2-0 to Haiti when Mondy Prunier set up Louicius, whose stabbing finish gave him his second goal of the night.
Jamaica were stunned, but would regroup in the second half and pulled a goal back, 2-1, in the 51’ when a Demarai Gray shot took a deflection off of Haitian defender Ricardo Ade, pinging the post and into net.
Haiti looked to regain control and nearly found a third in the 60’ when Danley Jean Jacques thundered a shot off the crossbar.
Jamaica stepped up their equalizing efforts and it finally bore fruit in the 83’ through Bobby Reid, who converted from the penalty spot after a handball in the area.
No winning score could be found in the waning moments, resulting in a share of the spoils. Jamaica remain atop the Group B table with four points, while Haiti are still in the mix with two points.
Honduras vs. Grenada
The night then wrapped up with a 4-0 Honduras victory against Grenada at the Estadio Nacional Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
It looked like the teams would go into the break scoreless, especially after Grenada GK Jason Belfon made a reaction save on a Denil Maldonado header in first half stoppage time.
But the resulting corner kick would produce a goal that just might go down as the best of the 2023-24 CNL. The corner kick was played to Edwin Rodriguez, who used his left foot to pop the ball up into the air to himself and then promptly fire a right-footed bicycle kick into goal, setting off a wild celebration and giving Honduras a 1-0 lead.
It was just what Honduras needed and in short order in the second half it was 2-0 in the 51’ when Antony Lozano fired home a deflection in the area.
Luis Palma converted a penalty in the 60’ to stretch it to 3-0, followed by Rodriguez tallying his second of the night in the 65’ with a right-footed shot to round out the 4-0 scoreline.
Honduras catapult themselves into third place with three points with the win, while Grenada remain on one point after two games.
