By Dwain Capodice
HOUSTON -- Aurelien Capoue set up goals by Stephane Auvray and Ludovic Gotin two minutes apart in the second half, leading Guadeloupe to a 2-0 victory over Nicaragua on Thursday and within sight of the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
Capoue sent in two crosses from the left side, the first that looped over the head of defender Silvia Aviles and to the shin of Auvray -- who volleyed it from the edge of the six-yard box, and another that Gotin controled with his left, touched it ahead and finished with his right near the post in the 59th.
The result gave Guadeloupe, which reached the semifinals in 2007, six points and sends it to a rematch in Sunday's Group C finale against Mexico, which eliminated it two years ago. Nicaragua, making its debut at the Gold Cup, lost for the second straight match and has only a meeting against Panama remaining.
Both teams struggled to impose their will at the outset. However, Guadeloupe gradually started stringing quality passes together and gaining more possession, leaving Nicaragua to counterattack.
"The first objective in the first half was not to take any goals," Guadeloupe manager Roger Salnot said. "Nicaragua backed off [in the first half], so we changed our tactics to try to take better advantage of the spaces."
Neither team forced the keeper to make a save in the first half, but the game might not have been scoreless at half but for the work of Nicaraguan defender Carlos Alonzo.
Alonzo made three strong last-ditch tackles to break up quality Guadeloupe opportunities. Alonzo cleared out dangerous crosses in the 19th minute and the 29th minute. However, his best effort came in the 36th minute when he made an impressive block on Loic Loval who looked to shoot from 15 yards.
The best chance in the first half came in the 32nd minute, Mickael Tacalfred played a dangerous cross into the box that was laid off by Alphonse to teammate Loic Loval. Loval's shot from the top of the box deflected off Alphonse and toward goal. The effort had beaten Nicaraguan keeper Carlos Mendieta, but went just wide of goal.
Before the halftime, Guadeloupe appeared to take the lead when defender Cedric Avinel had the ball deflect to him behind the Nicaraguan defense. His effort beat Mendietta, but the referee ruled it offside.
The second half started differently as Nicaragua came out and looked to attack. Rudel Calero found himself at the top of the box with the ball in the 51st minute and created the Abiazueles' first shot of the match. The effort though was saved well by Guadeloupe keeper Marius Fausta.
With Nicaragua pushing forward, Guadeloupe pounced for its two goals. In the 57th minute, Capoue sent in a cross from the left side of midfield that landed perfectly at the feet of Auvray.
Auvray ran unmarked to just outside the six-yard box and easily beat Mendietta. Capoue helped double the lead, albeit when his cross was a strike behind Gotin at the far post.
"First half, we didn't feel like Nicaragua was pressing hard enough for a goal," Capoue said. "In the second half, they had to come for a result and it created spaces for us and we were able to take advantage of the spaces and get our opportunities on goal."
Just when it looked like Nicaragua would go quietly, Tacalfred received his second yellow card for a rash challenge in the 67th minute. The Gwada Boys had to play the rest of the way down a man, but never faced a serious challenge from Nicaragua.
"We pressed more (with the advantage)," Nicaraguan Coach Otoniel Olivas said. "But we just couldn't capitalize on the few chances we had."
"Ultimately, we made a few errors that cost us the goals. The errors at the back cost us, especially that second goal."
