The 2014 FIFA World Cup began with little fanfare, but those present for the match were blessed with a seven-goal shootout, hopefully a scoreline indicative of the matches yet to come.
Playing on a slick surface, Belize's star striker Deon McCaulay scored the first goal of the tournament to give his side a 1-0 advantage and himself a share of the all-time scoring mark for the Belize national team. Montserrat pulled even to end the first half 1-1 thanks to the first of two goals from Jay Lee Hodgson. In a second half played in rainy conditions, Belize put the game out of reach, scoring four goals before Montserrat were able to answer with a late consolation goal to reach the final scoreline of 5-2.
McCaulay finished with a hat trick and sole possession of his country's all-time scoring mark of seven goals. Hodgson finished with the distinction of being the first player cautioned in this edition of the FIFA World Cup, receiving a yellow card in the eleventh minute.
Belize should be feeling pretty confident of finishing off Montserrat in their first home qualifier of the tournament, which takes place this Sunday. Belize opened up a 3-goal lead in the aggregate series with five road goals in the bag. Montserrat will have to find to a way to overcome the deficit in the return leg in four days time or face another four years of waiting for their next chance to qualify.
Goals:
Belize
Deon McCaulay 24, 74, 83
Harrison Roches 50
Elroy Kulyen (pictured in white) 53
Montserrat
Jay Lee Hodgson 44, 86
Match Reports:
Highlights:
No comments:
Post a Comment