Costa Rica
Makes Gold Cup Semi Finals For First Time
Since 2003
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Alvaro Saborio
scored two goals and Costa Rica advanced to
the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals for the
first time since 2003, beating Guadeloupe
5-1 Sunday in the first sporting event
played at the new Cowboys Stadium.
Costa Rica (2-1-1) will play the winner of
the Mexico-Haiti match in the semifinals
Thursday in Chicago.
Armando Alonso had two assists to help Costa
Rica jump out to a 2-0 advantage in the
first 16 minutes.
In the early moments, Alonso passed the ball
to midfielder Celso Borges near the top of
the penalty box. Borges scored on a reverse
bicycle kick, beating frozen goalkeeper
Marius Fausta as the ball bounced once
before landing just inside the left post.
"It was a great pass by Alonso," Borges said
through an interpreter. "I didn't think
twice about it. I just let the play guide
me."
Saborio took a pass from Alonso and scored
on a header from nine yards out to extend
the lead to 2-0.
Andy Herron's goal on an assist from Saborio
in the 47th minute made it 3-0.
Guadeloupe (2-2) cut its deficit to 3-1 when
Larry Clavier passed to Alexander Alphonse,
who split two defenders and scored on a
header in the 64th minute.
Costa Rica outshot Guadeloupe 19-12.
"We started the game not concentrating,"
Guadeloupe coach Roger Salnot said through
an interpreter. "We were out of sorts.
Giving up two goals was a big blow. We
couldn't change the course of the game."
Guadeloupe, a small cluster of islands under
French rule in the Caribbean that was
playing in its second Gold Cup, lost in the
semifinals to Mexico in 2007.
Costa Rica, which has never won the Gold
Cup, lost in the finals in 2002 to the
United States and in the semifinals to
Mexico in 2003. It was eliminated in the
quarterfinals in both 2005 and 2007.
Saborio's second goal came in the 72nd
minute on an assist from Borges. He took a
long pass and beat Fausta to make it 4-1.
"I felt very confident," Saborio said
through an interpreter. "I was able to
follow the scheme."
Pablo Herrera added a goal in the 89th
minute to cap the scoring.
The $1.15 billion Cowboys Stadium, which so
far has played host to concerts by George
Strait and the Jonas Brothers in June, was a
little more than half full at the start. The
stadium began to fill up with fans of Mexico
toward the end of the match. |
