Puerto Rico were content to sit back and defend Canada on their visit to Toronto in spite of the knowledge that only a win could keep their hopes alive. A famous result in Canada would be more important than an unlikely qualification. All four midfielders sat back and defended in front of five defenders, forcing Canada to go for tough passes to break Puerto Rico down. To make matters worse, Iain Hume went down to a hamstring injury for Canada with ten minutes remaining in the period. The first half ended scoreless.
Puerto Rico seemed to be playing for the one counterattack opportunity to spring a 1-0 win. With six minutes to go, Puerto Rico found themselves one-on-one with Canadian goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld, who took a hard shot to his chest to preserve the eventual 0-0 draw.
St. Kitts and Nevis welcomed St. Lucia to Basseterre, knowing that Canada's draw earlier in the day had left the door open for St. Kitts to pull closer to the summit of Group D. St. Kitts received an early penalty kick opportunity, but this was blown by Jevon Francis. Ian Lake hit the crossbar on a header for the home side, and no goals were to be found in the first forty five minutes.
In the second stanza, St. Kitts again squandered a chance, this time from within the six-yard box. St. Lucia found the opener fifteen minutes from time against the run of play, but Lake redirected a cross with his head for the equalizer nine minutes later. St. Kitts were unable to find victory, however, and the 1-1 draw means that St. Kitts must defeat Canada home and away in November to advance to Round Four.
Canada 10 pts
St. Kitts 6 pts
Puerto Rico OUT
St. Lucia OUT
Goals
St. Lucia
Cliff Magnam Valcin 75
St. Kitts and Nevis
Ian Lake 84
Match Reports:
Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK8Lv7P3aAo (Puerto Rico v. Canada)
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