Martinique scored two goals in the first 16 minutes before holding on through most of the second half with 10 players to beat El Salvador 2-1 Monday in Group C play of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Patrick Burner (11th minute) and Kevin Fortune (16th) each capitalized on sloppy El Salvador turnovers to cash in for what became an insurmountable lead for Martinique, which has been ousted in the group stage in five consecutive Gold Cup appearances.
After Martinique controlled much of the pace in the first half, Jonathan Rivierez was called for a red card in the 48th minute, forcing Martinique to play a man down for the rest of the match.
Goalkeeper Yannis Clementia rose to the challenge, producing eight saves — several in spectacular fashion, including a full-stretch diving stop of Jairo Henriquez’s penalty attempt in the 83rd minute.
El Salvador avoided the shutout in the fifth and final minute of extra time, this time converting a deflected penalty shot by Bryan Tamacas on what became the final play of the match.
Panama 2, Costa Rica 1
Despite statistical dominance, the Canal Men had to hold on for a tight win over the Ticos in both teams’ Group C opener in the Gold Cup at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Panama’s Jose Fajardo opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when he cut across the front of the box and squeezed between two defenders to deflect a centering pass from the left flank of the foot of Eric Davis past Costa Rican goalkeeper Kevin Chamorro.
Edgar Barcenas doubled the lead in the 68th, taking a centering pass from the right side from Amir Murillo and heading the ball off the left post and into the net.
Aaron Suarez got Costa Rica within one in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, but Costa Rica could not net the equalizer.
Panama held the ball for 61 percent of the game and had a 15-6 edge in shots and a 10-4 advantage in shots on target.
–Field Level Media
