Guadeloupe, Cuba advance to semis, earn CONCACAF Gold Cup berths
The Associated Press
Thursday, January 18, 2007
MARABELLA, Trinidad
Guadeloupe beat St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1-0 Thursday to reach the Caribbean Cup semifinals for only the second time, and was joined by Cuba, which drew 0-0 with Guyana.
The results also earned Guadeloupe its first trip to the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June in the United States, while Cuba claimed its fourth straight trip.
Dominique Mocka scored in the 13th minute for Guadeloupe, a nine-island archipelago totaling 1,700 square kilometers (650 square miles) with a population of 750,000.
Fabien Raddas ran to the left byline before lifting the ball back across goal and over keeper Melvin Andrews. Mocka ran in to meet the ball at the far post and finished with a tight-angled volley.
The victory finished Guadeloupe atop the Bobby Sookram Group with six points and sent it to a Saturday meeting against Haiti. The only other time Guadeloupe advanced this far it lost 4-2 to Martinique in 1994.
Cuba, which edged out Guyana on goal difference for second place in the group, will take on eight-time champion Trinidad in the other semifinal at Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Odelin Hernandez made several first-half saves to keep Cuba on level terms with Guyana.
Nigel Codrington thought he had given Guyana the lead at the start of the second-half but his close-range header was ruled out for offside.