BY Haiti Libre:
On Tuesday against Mexico in the semi-finals of the 2019 Gold Cup, Haitian national coach Marc Collat repeated the same starting lineup that won the match in the quarterfinals [3-2] against the Canucks of Canada Saturday, June 29 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Starting eleven Haiti – Mexico :
Goalkeeper :
Johny Placide (Without club);
Defenders :
Alex Christian Jr (Ararat-Armenia / Armenia);
Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Umeå FC / Sweden);
Carlens Arcus (AJ Auxerre / France);
Jems Geffrard (Fresno Football Club, California);
Midfielders :
Bryan Alceus (Chartres Football / France);
Wilde-Donald Warrior (Qarabağ FC / Azerbaijan)
Steeven Saba (Violette AC / Haiti);
Hervé Bazile (Le Havre / France);
Forwards :
Duckens Nazon (St Mirren / Scotland);
Frantzdy Pierrot (Royal Excel Mouscron / Belgium);
On the lawn of “State Farm Stadium” (formerly University of Phoenix Stadium) located in Glendale, in the suburbs of Phoenix (Arizona) our Grenadiers who had opted for a very defensive and very fast game with from time to time some counter-attacks, have stood up and shake Mexico, the team considered the strongest in the region. During the 90 minutes of regulation time neither team found the net of the opposing nets [0-0].
In the second half, Collat sent out his two forwards Frantzdy Pierrot and Duckens Nazon to replace Jonel Désiré (Lori FC / Armenia) and Derrick Étienne (Red Bulls / New York) respectively.
In the first period of extra time, Marc Collat pulled out Steven Sabat and Donald Guerrier (relatively tired) to replace them by Zachary Hérivaux (Birmingham Legion FC / USA) and Mikaël Cantave (Rayo Cantabria / Spain). Johny Placide, a former stadium, repelled several Mexican attempts before bowing after the Qatar referee punished a foul in the penalty area on Mexican forward Raul Jiménez, a penalty that left many players puzzled over the penalty. seriousness of the fault… Penalty transformed to 93′ by Raul Jimenez [1-0] for the benefit of Mexico.
Mikael Cantave came close to creating the tie, but his shot hit the crossbar of Guillermo Ochoa’s net. After the two extra periods of time (2 X 15 minutes), the score remained unchanged in favor of Mexico [1-0] who pocketed his ticket to the final by eliminating the Grenadiers.
A match that remains a feat for Haiti, the Grenadiers having never exceeded 1/4 of finals in a Gold Cup.
In Haiti, sports columnists lamented a penalty “questionable”, “litigious” see “imaginary”, whistled by the referee quatari, unfair considering this defeat on a foul.
The next deadline for the Grenadiers is the League of Nations of Concacaf. In September, Haiti will compete to face Curaçao and Costa Rica in the regional qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
First reactions :
President of the Republic Jovenel Moïse :
“This tournament has allowed us to bring together Haitians from all over the world and show that by being united, we are better. Thanks to the Grenadiers. The homeland is proud of everything you have accomplished. And even by losing tonight, our team has won the hearts of all of us, Haitians,” Jovenel Moïse
Eddy Jackson Alexis, Secretary of State for Communication :
“We deserved to go further in this tournament. An imaginary penalty ended the adventure. Arbitration errors, that too, is football ! Congratulations my dear compatriots ! We are proud of you, Grenadiers! Alaso always !”
Pierre Adler, Assistant to the President of the Senate :
“Congratulations to our brave Grenadiers. The country is proud of you.”
Gary Bodeau Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies :
“Congratulations Haiti ! Nou pa pèdi pou ti ekip !”
BF/Haiti Libre