- January, 26 2009 -
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JANUARY 24TH - TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS: Honduras became the first side to qualify for the semi finals of the Copa de Naciones Digicel, and subsequently earned its place in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, with a commanding 4-1 win over Nicaragua.
With a demanding home crowd, the Hondurans found the task of overcoming the perceived under-dog opponents quite difficult in the opening few moments and had to wait until the 16th minute before it could break a resolute defense, marshaled stoutly by Carlos Alonso.
Honduras, or as it is nicknamed in Central America the “catrachos”, made the breakthrough when Saul Martinez stole the ball from defender Armando Coyado on the edge of the penalty box and saw his shot rebound off the post into the grateful path of veteran striker Mario “Fish” Cesar, who made no mistake from three yards out and sent the packed house of supporters into raptures.
The home fans now sought for their heroes to go on and kill off the game with a flurry of goals, but Nicaragua had other ideas and after 31 minutes the “pinolero” drew deservedly level when striker Armando Reyes silenced the National stadium when his delightful chip from 15 yards caught goalkeeper Noel Valladares off his line and brought the teams into half time at 1-1.
Columbian coach, Reinaldo Rueda, must have served quite a dressing down to the home side at half time as they came out and peppered the goal of Espinoza with shot after shot.
The crowd thought the one goal lead was restored after only 10 minutes of the restart only to see Danilo Turcios’ shot come crashing off the crossbar and away to safety.
With such intense pressure, it seemed only a matter of time before Espinoza would be picking the ball out of the Nicaraguan net once more, but unfortunately for him it came after a deflected cross from Turcios took its decisive direction off the foot of Carlos Solorzano and into the defenders own goal, to make it 2-1 to the home side.
Desperate not to make the same mistake as it did in the first half, coach Rueda brought in substitute strikers Carlos Pavon and Walter Martinez to kill off the game.
As if sensing the message handed out by the coach, the Hondurans duly obliged and on 72 minutes put the game beyond doubt when Saul Martinez made it 3-1 with a sweet right footed drive from 12 yards out.
Nicaragua seemed to accept its fate and tried to ensure a respectable score-line by putting everyone behind the ball in an attempt to prevent any further goals for the home side
Try as they might, Nicaragua could do nothing about Hondura’s fourth and final goal, when a long ball over the top from Beata was helped into the path of substitute Walter Martinez by Turcios, for the diminutive striker to thump the ball into the net to send Honduras into the semi final of the Copa Digicel and qualify to the CONCACAF Gold Cup later this summer.
For more information on the Copa de Naciones Digicel, logon to www.digicelfootball.com
Team Lineups
Honduras: 18. Noel Valladares, 2. Osman Chávez, 4. Mario Beata, 8. Carlos Will Mejía, 10. Danilo Turcios, 11. Saúl Martínez, 12. Marvin Chávez, 16. Mario Rodríguez, 17.Mariano Acevedo, 21. Emilio Izaguirre, 25. Hendry Thomas.
Substitutes: 15. Walter Martínez , 9. Carlos Pavón, 5. Erick Norales
Nicaragua: 1. Dennis Espinoza, 2. David Solórzano, 3. Silvio Avilés, 4. Armando Coyado, 5. Carlos Alonso, 6. Armando Reyes, 7. Franklin López, 9. Wilber Sánchez, 10. Samuel Wilson, 11. Feliz Zeledón, 16. Marlon Medina.
Substitutes: 19. Juan Barrera, 8. Emilio Palacios, 16. Marlon Medina.
POSITIONS TABLE
Group A, DIGICEL Cup
TEAMS GP W D L GS GA PTS
Honduras 02 02 00 00 06 02 06
El Salvador 02 01 01 00 05 02 04
Nicaragua 02 00 01 01 02 05 01
Belice 02 00 00 02 02 06 00
GP: Games Played, W: Wins, D:Ties, L: Losses, GS: Goals Scored, GA: Goals Against
ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP
Since its launch in 2001, Digicel has become the largest wireless telecommunications operator in the Caribbean with more than six million customers. After seven years, Digicel is renowned for competitive rates, unbeatable coverage, superior customer care, a wide variety of products and services and state-of-the-art handsets. By offering innovative wireless services and community support, Digicel has become a leading brand in the Caribbean and has placed the region at the cutting-edge of wireless communications – the company is also a new entrant to the Central American market.
Since its launch in 2001, Digicel has become the largest wireless telecommunications operator in the Caribbean with more than six million customers. After seven years, Digicel is renowned for competitive rates, unbeatable coverage, superior customer care, a wide variety of products and services and state-of-the-art handsets. By offering innovative wireless services and community support, Digicel has become a leading brand in the Caribbean and has placed the region at the cutting-edge of wireless communications – the company is also a new entrant to the Central American market.
Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and now has operations in 31 markets worldwide. Its Caribbean and Central American markets comprise Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Panama, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos. The Caribbean company also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barths. Digicel Pacific comprises Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean and Central American sports teams, including the West Indies Cricket Team and Special Olympics teams throughout the region. Digicel is also title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Championships and the Copa de Naciones Digicel, which are the Caribbean and Central American qualifiers to the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
