Mexico, Jamaica come up empty in Gold Cup
Mexico and Jamaica played to a scoreless draw Thursday night in Denver and remained on track to advance to the knockout round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Neither team could break through, although Mexico (1-0-1) dominated chances, holding possession for the majority of the night and doing everything but score against Jamaica (1-0-1) and keeper Damian Hyatt.
The best chance came on Mexico’s fourth corner kick, in the 39th minute, when Jesus Molina bounced a header off the turf toward an open net. Jamaican defender Jermaine Taylor deflected it off his head over the crossbar.
Mexico’s Erick Torres had a good chance in the 11th minute off a free kick, but the ball went over the goal. Later, Elias Hernandez, who had two goals Sunday in El Tri’s 3-1 win over El Salvador, sent a ball to the front of the net that Jamaica cleared. In the 50th minute, Hernandez bent a free kick just over the net, and he put a low shot on goal moments later that forced Hyatt to make a save.
Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio served the second of his six-game sideline suspension for berating an official. His team was heavily favored by the 49,121 fans in attendance.
Jamaica, a 2-0 winner over Curacao on Sunday, had one of its only chances when Cory Burke crossed a ball to the far post, before goalkeeper Moises Muñoz scooped it up.
Burke left the game on a stretcher in the 87th minute after a collision near midfield.
In the first match in Denver, El Salvador beat Curacao 2-0 to improve to 1-1 in pool play.
Mexico plays Curacao on Sunday in San Antonio, after Jamaica faces El Salvador there. The quarterfinals start Wednesday. Rooney scores in return: Wayne Rooney scored in his first game back with Everton, curling in a shot from around 30 yards out in the 35th minute of a friendly with Kenyan team Gor Mahia that Everton won 2-1 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Rooney’s return to Everton on a two-year deal was announced last weekend, taking the forward back to the club he grew up watching and supporting — and the club he says he still supported all through his time at Manchester United.
Rooney, 31, joined the Everton youth team as a 9-year-old and spent two seasons with the first team before signing in 2004 with Manchester, where he became the club’s all-time goal-scorer.
Fans chanting “Rooney! Rooney!” had gathered outside the hotel when Everton, the first Premier League team to visit Tanzania, arrived, and crowds flocked wherever Rooney went in the buildup to the game.