Jamaica leave it late against Canada

AFP, HOUSTON: Dustin Corea scored off a free kick in injury time to lift El Salvador to a 1-1 draw with winless Costa Rica in the Gold Cup tournament on Saturday.
Rodolph Austin scored two minutes into stoppage time to lift Jamaica over Canada 1-0 in their CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage match also on Saturday.
Corea snuck between two defenders and got the toe of his left foot on a cross by Arturo Alvarez to score the late equalizer in front of a raucous crowd at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The tie leaves struggling Costa Rica with a share of second place with El Salvador in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B standings with two points. Jamaica is first with four points while Canada is last with one point.
With Costa Rica seemingly en route to their first win of the tournament, El Salvador got a lucky break when American referee Jair Marrufo awarded a controversial free kick to El Salvador.
Costa Rica midfielder Bryan Ruiz was standing next to Alexander Larin who drew the foul with a quick spin and melodramatic dive that caught Marrufo’s attention. Television replays showed that Ruiz did not make contact with Larin but it was too late.
Alvarez’s kick off the set piece sailed into the centre of the box and Corea timed his run perfectly to slot it home.
It was another bitter disappointment for highly-ranked Costa Rica, who have failed to build off their quarter-final run at last year’s FIFA World Cup. Ruiz scored in the 61st minute by hammering a left footed shot near post past goalkeeper Derby Carrillo to make it 1-0 for Costa Rica.
As they celebrated the goal, Ruiz and his teammates were then pelted with cups of water thrown by the unruly Houston crowd.
One soccer fan managed to make his way past security in the 85th minute and onto the field where he took a picture with Costa Rican goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado Brown who didn’t object.
In the early game Saturday, Rodolph Austin headed the winner home two minutes into stoppage time, lifting Jamaica to a 1-0 triumph over winless Canada.
The winning goal came off some sloppy defence by Canada. Adrian Mariappa started the sequence from the right side by sending a cross into the centre of the box where Austin was waiting unchecked as he easily headed the ball clean past Canadian goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos.
Canada’s David Edgar, who plays for English second division side Birmingham City, helped save a goal in the 27th minute when he cleared a ball off the line.
Jamaica had another superb opportunity to score in the 60th minute but Giles Barnes’s shot from a set piece deflected off the crossbar.
“Our great spirit and our team spirit is to win,” Jamaican technical director Winfried Schaefer said. “It was not a very good match from us, this was clear, but only three points was important.”
“Today we had 21 shots, 11 shots to the goal and only one goal. It’s not enough but it was no problem today,” Schaefer said. “We’ll talk today or tomorrow about what was good and what was bad.”
Four of Canada’s seven shots came in the first 16 minutes.

Jamaica leave it late against Canada

AFP, HOUSTON: Dustin Corea scored off a free kick in injury time to lift El Salvador to a 1-1 draw with winless Costa Rica in the Gold Cup tournament on Saturday. Rodolph Austin scored two minutes into stoppage time to lift Jamaica over Canada 1-0 in their CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage match also on Saturday. Corea snuck between two defenders and got the toe of his left foot on a cross by Arturo Alvarez to score the late equalizer in front of a raucous crowd at BBVA Compass Stadium. The tie leaves struggling Costa Rica with a share of second place with El Salvador in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B standings with two points. Jamaica is first with four points while Canada is last with one point. With Costa Rica seemingly en route to their first win of the tournament, El Salvador got a lucky break when American referee Jair Marrufo awarded a controversial free kick to El Salvador. Costa Rica midfielder Bryan Ruiz was standing next to Alexander Larin who drew the foul with a quick spin and melodramatic dive that caught Marrufos attention. Television replays showed that Ruiz did not make contact with Larin but it was too late. Alvarezs kick off the set piece sailed into the centre of the box and Corea timed his run perfectly to slot it home. It was another bitter disappointment for highly-ranked Costa Rica, who have failed to build off their quarter-final run at last years FIFA World Cup. Ruiz scored in the 61st minute by hammering a left footed shot near post past goalkeeper Derby Carrillo to make it 1-0 for Costa Rica. As they celebrated the goal, Ruiz and his teammates were then pelted with cups of water thrown by the unruly Houston crowd. One soccer fan managed to make his way past security in the 85th minute and onto the field where he took a picture with Costa Rican goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado Brown who didnt object. In the early game Saturday, Rodolph Austin headed the winner home two minutes into stoppage time, lifting Jamaica to a 1-0 triumph over winless Canada. The winning goal came off some sloppy defence by Canada. Adrian Mariappa started the sequence from the right side by sending a cross into the centre of the box where Austin was waiting unchecked as he easily headed the ball clean past Canadian goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos. Canadas David Edgar, who plays for English second division side Birmingham City, helped save a goal in the 27th minute when he cleared a ball off the line. Jamaica had another superb opportunity to score in the 60th minute but Giles Barness shot from a set piece deflected off the crossbar. Our great spirit and our team spirit is to win, Jamaican technical director Winfried Schaefer said. It was not a very good match from us, this was clear, but only three points was important. Today we had 21 shots, 11 shots to the goal and only one goal. Its not enough but it was no problem today, Schaefer said. Well talk today or tomorrow about what was good and what was bad. Four of Canadas seven shots came in the first 16 minutes.