| EFE |
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| Canada vs. Cuba |
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12/JUL/2005 -The Canadians scored their first goal of the tourney in the 68th
minute as Ali Gerba knocked in a rebound in the penalty box. Atiba Hutchinson
scored the second in the 87th minute by getting behind the Cuban defenders and
beating goalkeeper Alexis Rene Aviles.
Canadian keeper Greg Sutton saved two early tough shots on goal by Alain Cervantes
and Lester More, the heart of Cuba's offense.
Cuba only managed to avoid the shutout in the two minutes of injury time as
Cervantes chipped in a rebound off a strong shot by More that Sutton stopped
but was unable to hold.
Earlier in the day Colombia blanked Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 to remain in the
hunt for one of the two berths allotted to the top third-place teams.
The win virtually assured the Colombians a spot in the round of eight on goal
differential and only a lopsided loss by either Canada or Cuba would have eliminated
the South Americans.
Canada, which would have needed to beat Cuba by four goals to advance, had
one goal taken back - a header by forward Olivier Occean in the 27th minute
- after he was whistled for offsides.
Three minutes later Occean broke away from the Cuban defenders and needed only
to beat the keeper but his shot soared wide. The Canadians bad luck continued
in the 35th minute when Dwayne DeRosario's shot went slightly wide.
Canada had another goal disallowed on a hands call against Kevin McKenna.
In Group C, Mexico, Jamaica, South Africa and Guatemala will do battle on Wednesday,
with the group winner taking on Colombia in Houston.
The Reggae Boys lead the group with four points, with South Africa trailing
only in goal differential. Mexico is currently in third with three points. The
group's second-place team will also remain in Texas for the next round to face
Panama, while the third-place team heads to Foxboro to take on the United States.
Honduras and Panama (Group A) had already qualified for the quarterfinals prior
to their Tuesday match, in which the Panamanians beat their Central American
rivals 1-0 to win the group.
The quarterfinals will take place in Foxboro and Houston on Saturday and Sunday,
respectively, while the semifinals and finals will be played at New Jersey's
Giants Stadium on Thursday and Sunday.
Lineups:
2. Canada: Greg Sutton; Adam Braz, Chris Pozniak (Josh Simpson, 62nd min.),
Kevin McKenna, Gabriel Gervais; Ali Gerba, Patrice Bernier, Atiba Hutchinson,
Sandro Grande (Jaime Peters, 56th min.); Dwayne DeRosario and Olivier Occean.
1. Cuba: Alexis Rene Aviles; Silvio Pedro Miñoso (Hensy Muñoz,
75th min.), Reysander Fernandez, Alexander Cruzata, Leonel Duarte; Jeniel Marquez,
Enrique Villaurrutia, Gisbel Morales, Jaime Colome; Alain Cervantes and Lester
More.
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