By Dylan Butler
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts - Honduras scored two goals in each half, advancing to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of Grenada Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
With six points, Honduras finished second in Group B and joins the United States for the quarterfinals in Philadelphia, while Grenada, the smallest country to ever qualify for the Gold Cup, ended with three losses, no goals and being outscored 10-0 in its tournament debut.
Honduras, which bounced back from a 2-0 loss to the United States on Wednesday, will face Canada in the first of the quarterfinal doubleheader while the United States will play the nightcap against either Jamaica or the third-place team from Group C. Haiti also advanced from Group B and will face the winner of Group C in Dallas on July 19.
"Today was important, because whenever you lose, it creates some uncertainty, some anxiety," Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda said through a translator. "So this result, in addition to assuring us passage to the quarterfinals with an acceptable point total, is important because it restored some of our confidence and at the same time provided an opportunity to give experience to a few players who did not have very much. In the end, it was all good for us."
Los Catrachos wasted little time as Grenada was again victimized by a defensive gaffe. Allan Lalin played Walter Martinez behind the Spice Boyz defense and goalkeeper Andray Baptiste was late to the ball. He slid and missed at the top of the 18-yard box, as Martinez spun and tapped the ball into the open net to give Honduras a 1-0 lead 71 seconds into the game.
"Out the three games I thought that was the best game we played," Grenada coach Tommy Taylor said. "I know we conceded four…but overall I'm not too disappointed with the boys because I think they really tried tonight. They tried to pass the ball and I was really pleased for them."
In the 10th minute, Roger Espinoza played a short corner to Lalin, curled to the edge of the 18-yard box but fired just wide of the target.
Espinoza wouldn't have to wait long to score his second international goal, though, as his open header in the 25th minute doubled Honduras' lead. Baptiste saved Martinez's cross, but the ball popped high. Lalin headed across the goal to Espinoza and the Kansas City Wizards midfielder nodded the ball into the net.
"I saw the ball stayed up in the air and there was a possibility the ball might get there when I get there and that's what happened," said Espinoza, who was named the man of the match. "I didn't celebrate the goal just for the simple reason that I knew we had to keep working hard. Inside of me I celebrated the goal, I celebrated with my teammates and I just knew we needed to keep working hard for the upcoming games and the future."
In just his second international appearance, Delroy Facey nearly struck for his first goal in the 35th minute, but the Notts County forward bounced a shot from distance off the near post after beating Doris Escobar with the shot.
In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Grenada captain Anthony Modeste missed the net following a corner on a near post attempt for the final chance of the first half.
"I think it's a step in the right direction even though we lost by four goals," Modeste said. "Our team is a pretty young team and we can learn from this experience."
Martinez set up his second goal of the game in the 56th minute, sending in a cross just outside the six-yard box where Melvin Valladares pounced in and bounced a header inside the far post to give Los Catrachos a three-goal lead.
A Lalin header forced Baptiste into a diving save in the 62nd minute and four minutes later, Michael Mark knocked down Mariano Acevedo, forcing referee Marco Rodriguez to point to the spot.
Carlos Costly's penalty kick was saved, but he tapped in the rebound to give Honduras a 4-0 lead in the 67th minute.
Martinez nearly added a fifth goal on a brilliant solo effort, putting the ball through a Spice Boyz defender's legs, but Baptiste made the save in the 78th minute.
Three minutes later Grenada nearly struck for its first goal of the tournament, but Marcus Julien's attempt was saved by a diving Escobar.
In the 86th minute, Luis Lopez blasted a shot from the top of the 18-yard box that glanced off the crossbar.
"As the game progressed, we were able to get the goal that gave us a bit of confidence and we were able to get the result we needed, even if perhaps we didn't have our best game today," Rueda said.
