Costa Rica and Haiti claim opening wins in Gold Cup

SAN JOSE: A rampant first-half performance from Costa Rica set them up for a 4-0 win over Nicaragua in their Gold Cup opener at the National stadium in San Jose on Sunday.

In another Group B match played there, Haiti edged Bermuda 2-1.

Playing their first game of the tournament at home in this year’s expanded Gold Cup, Costa Rica were dominant throughout against their Central American neighbours.

Bryan Oviedo put the home side ahead in six minutes when the Nicaraguan goalkeeper failed to block his angled drive and Celso Borges made it two 13 minutes later.

Costa Rica got a third seconds before half time after a mix up in the Nicaraguan defence allowed Elias Aguilar’s 35-meter free kick to sail over everyone and into the net.

The second half was a quieter affair, with Allan Cruz rounding off the scoring 13 minutes from time when he curled a sweet left-foot shot into the top corner of the net from 18 meters out.

While 27 of the 31 Gold Cup matches are taking place in the US, this match and Haiti’s 2-1 win over Bermuda in the other Group B encounter, were held in Costa Rica as part of the confederation’s expansion plans.

Haiti came from behind to beat Gold Cup debutants Bermuda with Frantzdy Pierrot the hero thanks to a decisive second-half double.

Dante Leverock put Bermuda 1-0 up in first half stoppage time but Pierrot headed Haiti level nine minutes after the break and then grabbed the winner eight minutes later.

It was Bermuda’s first ever match in the Gold Cup and marked the first time the tournament, which was this year expanded from 12 to 16 teams, has embraced a cohosting method.

The next round of Group B games take place in Frisco, Texas on Thursday when Costa Rica play Bermuda and Haiti take on Nicaragua.