After their unfortunate loss on the opening date against Guadeloupe, the cuban soccer team He thrashed 3×0 this Sunday against his similar from Barbados in his first home game in the League of Nations of the Confederation of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf).
Before the fans that filled the Antonio Maceo stadium in Santiago de Cuba, the disciples of coach Pablo Elier Sánchez came out on the court with impetus and comfortably dominated the first half, from which they left with a 2×0 lead on the scoreboard.
After the scare of a goal annulled to the visitors for clearly offside, the Cubans took the lead thanks to goals by William Pozo, at minute 35, and by captain Arichell Hernández at 38. The first hit a ball from the front of the area, which was nested to the left of the rival goalkeeper, and the second took advantage of a rebound from the defense to beat goalkeeper Kishmar Primus between the legs.
Once the second half had begun, it was Luis Javier Paradela who was in charge of putting the final figures at minute 47. The attacker scored a penalty awarded by the referee, after a Barbadian foul on his teammate Onel Hernández.
fell the third #Cuba Paradela capitalized on a penalty kick @OnelHernandez23 within the area@jit_digital @InderCuba @afcfutbolcuba @football_cuba pic.twitter.com/6fh5u3GkeP
– Raúl Hernández Lima (@PeriodistaRaul) June 5, 2022
However, when it seemed that the score could continue to grow in favor of Cuba, the board did not move any more, thanks to offensive impressions by the locals and good interventions by the opposing goalkeeper.
The pace of the match slowed down considerably as the second half progressed, while Cuba’s game deteriorated with the substitutions. Even those from Barbados had the stoppage goal close at hand towards the end, but they were unable to capitalize on a Cuban defensive error against guard Sandy Sánchez.
In this way, those from the largest of the Antilles achieved their first success in the second level of the League of Nations, after falling 1×2 in their visit to Guadeloupe on the first date of the tournament. On the contrary, the Barbadians added their second loss after suffering 0-1 against Antigua and Barbuda in their debut in the tournament.
Precisely Antigua and Barbuda, which this Sunday collided with Guadeloupe in an undefeated match, will be Cuba’s next rival and twice. Both teams will face each other on Thursday in the first place, and then they will repeat in a week at the Antonio Maceo, in Santiago.
For the Cubans, who they aspire to dominate their area To advance to the first level of the league and qualify for the Gold Cup, it is vital to achieve success in both matches and score as many goals as possible, ahead of the next dates of the competition. Presumably, the fate of the group will be decided on those final dates, in March 2023, when Cuba will have Barbados and Guadeloupe as rivals.
For now, this Sunday’s victory gives the Caribbean team a break after its initial stumble, but, at the same time, it highlights the need not to miss offensive opportunities or commit blunders on defense that can have a high cost for team goals.
