Haiti opened up the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship with a 1-0 victory over Guatemala in the first of two matches Wednesday evening at Sporting Park in Kansas City, KS. Haiti, who went down a player early in the match, rallied to secure the first points of the tournament.
Both teams had a difficult time settling down initially, but Guatemala started to find their rhythm while Haiti struggled to get the ball out of their end and mount an attack. Guatemala’s first opportunity came a mere 10 minutes in when Coralia Monterroso made a great run down the right side and pulled it across to Ana Martinez, whose shot was deflected by a Haiti defender and over the net.
A game changing opportunity came seven minutes later as Guatemala took a hard shot that Haiti’s goalkeeper Cynthia Chery was unable to hold on to. As Martinez went to pick up the rebound, she was clearly fouled by Chery, who received a red card for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. Guatemala was also awarded a penalty.
Back up goalkeeper Geralda Saintilus came on and immediately made an impact, saving the penalty taken by Marilyn Rivera. The shot was placed too close to Saintilus who guessed the correct way and was able to push the ball out of danger before smothering it to prevent the rebound.
This proved to be a turning point for Haiti who seemed to have new life after the penalty save despite being down a player. In an interesting move, Haiti had subbed off playmaker Wisline Dolce to allow Saintilus to enter the match, perhaps in an attempt to keep the strongest defenders on the pitch. The strategy paid off as Haiti defended excellently and really seemed to put the Guatemala players off their game. Haiti did not just sit back and defend either; they started pushing the ball into the attacking third more as the half went on, although they were only able to create one or two opportunities.
The second half started much like the first, with both teams looking very unsettled and lacking control of the ball. Unlike the first half though, it was Haiti who settled down and really started working together as a team to maintain possession. They had several solid chances on goal, but the excellent efforts by Guatemala goalkeeper Yoselin Franco kept the match scoreless.
While Haiti was playing well as a team, Guatemala looked very disjointed. They had a hard time connecting passes and looked very impatient in their attacking play; opting to rush shots or send long balls in instead of taking the time to set up more solid opportunities. It was hard to believe at times that Haiti was playing a player down as Guatemala did not seem to take advantage of that at all.
Haiti’s hard work and persistence finally paid off in the 70th minute as Monterroso sent a free kick into a group of players in front of the goal, which one of her teammates got a head on. Franco was able to make the initial, point blank save but was unable to handle the ball cleanly, sending what appeared to be half of the Haiti team crashing into the net. Lindsay Zullo looked to be the last one to touch it as it crossed the line and was credited with giving Haiti a 1-0 lead.
Despite being a player down from the 17th minute, Haiti put on a great performance and really earned those opening three points. Guatemala started out strong, but could not connect and really settle down their offense which is something they will hope to change moving forward.
Haiti plays Trinidad and Tobago on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET while Guatemala takes on the USWNT at 9 p.m. ET Friday. Both games will be played at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL right outside of Chicago.
Feature photo courtesy of Getty Images
