CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009 Group C: Panama 4-0 Nicaragua and Mexico 2-0 Guadeloupe

Panama demolish Nicaragua to book last quarter-final spot

GLENDALE (Arizona): Panama booked the last spot in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals against the United States with a 4-0 victory over Nicaragua in Group C on Sunday.

Mexico take top spot in the group after a 2-0 win over a Guadeloupe side who ended the game with nine men. The Mexicans will face Haiti in the last eight.

Both teams went into the game having already qualified and only top spot in the group at stake – Guadeloupe finish second and will face Costa Rica in the quarter-finals.

The other game in the last eight of the tournament for North and Central America and the Caribbean features Canada against Honduras.

Panama, the Central America champions, had no trouble against a Nicaragua side who had to play the entire second half down to 10 men after Franklin Lopez was sent off for kicking Gabriel Gomez just before the break.

Panama were 1-0 up at the interval after Blas Perez slotted home in the 35th minute after some poor Nicaraguan defending.

Gabriel Gomez made it 2-0 in the 56th minute before Luis Tejada scored twice to complete the rout.

In the late game, Mexico took the lead through a superb strike from Gerardo Torrado three minutes before the break, the midfielder taking the ball down on his thigh before blasting home from more than 20m out.

Guadeloupe, who do not feature in World Cup competition as they are not a member of FIFA, went down to 10 men after Alain Vertot was sent off for a second yellow card in the 72nd minute.

Ludovic Gotin was dismissed shortly after for a studs-up challenge.

Miguel Sabah thundered in a header from a corner five minutes from the end to ensure victory for the Mexicans, who were without the leadership of manager Javier Aguirre.

Aguirre clashed with Panama midfielder Ricardo Phillips in their 1-1 draw on July 9 and was given a three-match suspension. — Reuters as taken from The Star Online.

Here are video highlights of both matches.

Panama vs. Nicaragua shared from Free Soccer Highlights

Mexico vs. Guadeloupe shared from Soccer Mania

CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009 Group C: Nicaragua 0-2 Guadeloupe and Mexico 1-1 Panama

Reuters has this to report on the Group C Gold Cup 2009 matches...

HOUSTON, July 10 — Mexico were held to a 1-1 draw by Panama in an ill-tempered Gold Cup game yesterday, in which three players and the Mexican coach were sent off.

Guadeloupe beat Nicaragua 2-0 in the other Group C match to move top of the pool on a maximum six points from two games, two ahead of a disappointing Mexican side, who failed to build on Miguel Sabah's ninth-minute goal.

Panama responded well to the early setback and after forcing Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa into making a couple of good saves, Blas Perez equalised from a freekick in the 28th minute.

El Tri celebrates their goal and Blas Perez equalises for Panama - Images from Reuters

The match then descended into a volatile encounter with the first two dismissals coming on the stroke of halftime when Panama's Armando Gun received a straight red for wrestling Giovani Dos Santos to the ground.

Fan fighting, cynical fouls, missiles and player altercation - Images from Associated Press

He was joined by Mexico's Luis Miguel Noriega, who was given his marching orders for his reaction to the challenge on his team mate.

In the 80th minute, Panama midfielder Ricardo Phillips and Mexico coach Javier Aguirre were also ejected after they became involved in a confrontation on the touchline.

Phillips initially refused to leave the pitch and protested the decision for more than five minutes before he was eventually persuaded to accept the red card, the delay leading to 10 minutes of added time at the end of the contest.

In the other match, Stephane Auvray and Ludovic Gotin scored second-half goals two minutes apart to send Guadeloupe top of the pool with a comfortable win over Nicaragua.

Guadeloupe's Gutin celebrates Auvray's goal - Image from Associated Press

Guadeloupe and Mexico meet on Sunday to determine who will win Group C, while Panama (1 point) face off against Nicaragua (0 points).

The top two teams from each of the three groups and the two best third-place finishers advance to the quarter-finals of the 12-nation tournament.

CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009 Group C: Panama 1-2 Guadeloupe

OAKLAND (California): Guade­loupe, surprise Gold Cup semi-finalists in 2007, showed they may be able to repeat that performance, opening their campaign with a 2-1 win over Panama while Mexico laboured to beat Nicaragua 2-0.

Panama, the current champions of Central America, fell behind in the 33rd minute when Loic Loval slotted home after latching on to a weak chest back to the goalkeeper by defender Armando Gun.

Guadeloupe, which is a French territory and not a member of FIFA and therefore unable to compete in World Cup qualifiers, doubled their advantage two minutes before the break through a brilliant long-range strike from David Fleurival.

Nelson Barahona pulled one back for Panama in the 68th minute and despite some late pressure were unable to get an equaliser.

Guadeloupe coach Roger Salnot believes his team could make another strong run.

“It all comes down to the players showing their talent, showing their qualities,” he said. “We have the talent.”

This report is taken from The Star Online.

Here are the video highlights taken from Free Soccer Highlights.