Andres Guardado became the
first player to score in three Gold Cup finals as Mexico defeated Jamaica 3-1
on Sunday, to lift the trophy.
Mexico took the early
lead in the first half, and then went wild after the break to
defeat Jamaica 3-1 in the 2015 CONCACAF
Gold Cup Final at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
on Sunday.
Andres
Guardado scored his fourth goal of the knockout rounds, not needing a penalty
kick this time, and Mexico won its seventh CONCACAF Gold Cup title Sunday with
a 3-1 victory over upstart Jamaica.
Jesus Corona and Oribe
Peralta added goals as El Tri scored twice early in the second half to ensure
this match wouldn't come down to any calls in the final minutes. It was a
convincing performance for coach Miguel Herrera and his team after some shaky
play and contentious moments in the previous two games.
Jamaica
had made a rousing run to the final, stunning the U.S. in the semis to become
the first Caribbean nation to reach the Gold Cup's championship match. And the
Reggae Boyz looked as though they belonged in the opening minutes, keeping the
pressure on Mexico with several promising scoring chances but never putting a
shot on goal.
Jamaica
hadn't trailed since early in the second half of its Gold Cup opener before a
yellow card helped lead to Mexico's first goal. Darren Mattocks scored in the
80th minute to pull the Reggae Boyz within 3-1.
El Tri
will face the U.S., the 2013 Gold Cup champ, on Oct. 9 for CONCACAF'S spot in
the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.
The only
way Mexico had been able to score in the knockout rounds before Sunday had been
on penalty kicks, all three by Guardado. And two of those came on late,
questionable calls.
Against
Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, a scoreless game was moments from going to a
shootout when Guardado converted his penalty in the final minute of extra time.
Mexico had been the better team that day, but that wasn't the case in the
semifinals. Down to 10 men, Panama was on the verge of victory when a disputed
hand ball set up a penalty for Guardado in second-half stoppage time, and he
scored on another for the winner in extra time.
Mexico had
gone 272 minutes since one of its players scored on anything other than a penalty
when Guardado put El Tri ahead for good Sunday. Jonathan dos Santos found Paul
Aguilar out wide on a free kick, and Aguilar crossed it to Guardado, whose
left-footed volley made it 1-0 in the 31st minute. It was his sixth goal of the
tournament, one behind Clint Dempsey of the U.S.
Guardado,
voted top player of the tournament, had also been the last Mexico player to
score on anything other than a penalty with his goal in the 88th minute against
Trinidad and Tobago in the final group stage match.
Any chance
of a Jamaica comeback quickly evaporated after halftime. Just over a minute in,
Jesus Corona, who had failed to convert two good chances in the first half,
stole the ball from Michael Hector and pushed forward. The 22-year-old forward
slid his left-footed shot from the edge of the area under the legs of Wes
Morgan for a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute. Corona was selected top young player
of the tournament.
Another
mistake by Hector in the 61st minute put Mexico up 3-0. He whiffed on an
attempted clearance, and the ball went right to Peralta for an easy goal.
Shortly
after, Guardado came off to a thunderous ovation from the pro-Mexico crowd of
68,930 at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
NOTES:
Brad Guzan of the U.S. won Golden Glove as top goalkeeper.
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