Guatemala win in Group A opener
By Shaun Fuentes
Invited Central American team, Guatemala secured their first three points of the Caribbean Football Union tournament with a commanding 3-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda on the second day of action at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.
This Group A match kicked off at 10am and both teams appeared eager to make a good first impression. But it was the Guatemalans who pulled away as they went on to enjoy a lead throughout.
Angelo Padilla opened the scoring for them in the 5th minute. They would take that lead into the half time interval before David Aroche made it 2-0 in the 47th. Samuel Bats then sealed the win with a third goal in the 70th minute. Deciding not to hang their heads, the Antiguans pulled a goal back in the 90th minute through captain Joel Thomas.
In the second game of the double header, US Virgin Islands and Aruba battled to a 1-1 draw in what was without doubt the most evenly contest match of the tournament so far.
Both sides, playing second on a wet surface, tried to keep the ball and play a simple game in the opening minutes. USVI were the first ones to have a crack at goal with captain Kai Schuster forcing goalie David Lacle to save in the 20th minute.
Four minutes later, USVI would break the deadlock when Alexander Nessman made a good run on the left of the box, beating two defenders before playing the ball in for Semaj Hodge to nail home from close range.
Aruba got more into the action and were unlucky not to draw level when Raymbert Bikker’s free kick brought the best out of goalie McDonald Taylor on the half hour.
Rauly Wiersma was causing problems for the USVI defense with his corners and midfielder Mark Fuentes was also orchestrating things well in the middle of the pitch. The Arubans deservedly got their equalizer from a free kick by Bikker in the 72nd minute to ensure a share of points.
