MIAMI, Florida – Alvin Jones scored a stunning, second-half goal from a free kick, and hosts Trinidad & Tobago ended their League A campaign with a gratifying 2-1 win against the United States in the biggest headline from the latest matches in the Concacaf Nations League on Monday.
Dominic Richmond (centre) of hosts Montserrat celebrating with teammates Donervon Daniels (left) and Alex Dyer after scoring during the League B Group B match against Barbados at the Blakes Estate Stadium.(Photo courtesy Concacaf)Jones followed up on a first-half strike from Reon Moore that drew the Soca Warriors level about 20 minutes after Antonee Robinson gave the Americans the lead inside the first half-hour and Sergiño Dest forced the visitors to play one man short following a pair of yellow cards in a dispute with the referee.
At the same time, League B-bound duo of hosts Aruba and Dominica wrapped up their respective campaigns in League C in style with sound victories against Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos Islands respectively, and hosts Montserrat ended its campaign with a 4-2 victory over Barbados in Group B of League B.
AT THE HASELY CRAWFORD STADIUM: T&T were put on the back-foot when Robinson scored in the 25th minute, heading home a cross from Dest to give the United States a four-goal aggregate lead in the quarter-final match.
Fortune favoured the Soca Warriors when Dest got two yellow cards 30 seconds apart when he lost his composure in the 39th minute and argued with Guatemalan referee Walter López.
With the numerical advantage in their favour, the hosts made it count when Moore outmuscled a defender in the 18-yard box and fired home to put them back on level terms in the 43rd minute and enabled the score-line to read 1-1 at half-time.
T&T carried the momentum into the second half, and Jones scored a screamer in the 57th minute on a free kick that gave United States goalkeeper Matt Turner no chance.
The Soca Warriors remained on the front-foot and continued to create chances, but the Americans held firm in defence during the final half-hour of the contest.
T&T will progress to a CNL play-in match on Saturday, March 23 next year at Toyota Stadium, home to the FC Dallas, in the American city of Frisco in the state of Texas, where there will be two single-match direct elimination pairings to be played among the quarterfinal losers.
The winners of the two matches will determine the last two Concacaf guest national teams qualifying for the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024.
With the result, the Americans won the two-legged series 4-2 on aggregate, and they have qualified for the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League Finals from March 21 to 24 next year on home soil at the world-renowned AT&T Stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas, in addition to the 2024 Copa America tournament.
AT THE GUILLERMO PROSPERO TRINIDAD STADIUM: Terence Groothusen led Aruba with a brace in a 5-1 rout against Cayman Islands.
Groothusen got things going for the Arubans in the 16th minute with the opening goal from a composed right-footed finish, but the home team had to wait until five minutes into first-half stoppage time to register their second when Rovien Ostiana also found the nets with an excellent right-footed strike.
Gunnar Studenhofft polished off a counter-attacking move by rounding Aruba goalkeeper Matthew Lentik and scoring to cut the deficit in the 49th minute, but it was all one-way traffic the rest of the way with the hosts dominating.
Benjamin Maria split a pair of defenders and squeezed in a shot in the 55th minute, Jaydon Dania increased the advantage slotting home a right-footed shot in the 77th minute, and Groothusen added a powerful right-footed shot from outside the area in the penultimate minute of regulation time.
AT BLAKES ESTATE STADIUM: Hosts Montserrat got goals from four different players and condemned Barbados to end their League B campaign winless.
Brandon Barzey opened the scoring in the 34th minute with a long-range strike to the left-side of goal to get Montserrat off the mark.
Josiah Dyer, who plays for English League 1 side Barnsley, extended the lead in the 36th minute with a final touch inside the box to cap off a collective build-up through the right flank.
Second-half substitute Rashad Jules scored in the 47th minute from inside the penalty arc to finish a free-kick opportunity for the visitors to cut the lead, but Donervorn Daniels, who plays for Walsall in the English League 2 championship, added a third for Montserrat in the 62nd minute from a header near the left post to convert on a free-kick from Alex Dyer to the far post.
Dominic Richmond, who plays for Fleetwood Town in English League 1, struck in the left upper corner in the 89th minute to extend the lead for the hosts, ruling a stoppage time strike for the Barbadians from Tajio James meaningless.
AT THE A.O. SHIRLEY RECREATION GROUND: The Dominicans closed out their campaign in style on the road in Road Town, Tortola, where Audel Laville opened the scoring in the 15th minute after a free kick taken by Savio Anselm hit the crossbar, pinballed around the TCI area, and he finally stabbed home.
Javid George added an insurance goal for Dominica then in the 61st minute when he received a pass off his chest and placed a left-footed shot into the top left corner of net.
