El Salvador made a trip to San Cristobal to face off against the Dominican Republic, a team that have truly been a thorn in the side of the two top seeds in Group A. Ernesto Jimenez was sent to the sidelines in the 34th minute for a red card after taking down Lester Blanco as the last defender, leaving the hosts down a man for the final hour of the match. The ensuing penalty kick was converted by Osael Romero (pictured, blue) and gave the Cuscatlecos a 1-0 lead at halftime.
The Dominicans kept pressing for goals in the second half in spite of their numerical inferiority. Jonathan Faña threaded a perfect through ball to Erick Ozuna, who found the netting for an equalizer nine minutes after the restart. El Salvador eventually won 2-1 on a goal midway through the half that held up against the desperate counterattacks of their foes. El Salvador win for the third time in three qualifiers, yet none of their performances have been convincing and the fans are left worrying whether such form will suffice in the two matches against Suriname in November. First, El Salvador need to take their match in four days' time at home to Cayman Islands.
Suriname paid a trip to Georgetown to take on the Cayman Islands, knowing that a win would be needed to remain within two points of group leaders El Salvador. Suriname had scored exactly one goal in each of its first two qualifiers, a pattern which continued today. The goal, however, did not make its appearance in the first period.
Suriname found its solitary goal a dozen minutes into the second half. Cayman goalkeeper Miguel Pitta was ejected for a red card in the 87th minute, leaving the Cayman Islands down a goal and down a man needing a tie to avoid elimination. The Cayman Islands were unable to find a goal as they had against El Salvador at home, so they suffered their second one-goal shutout loss to Suriname in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Suriname and El Salvador have both played below expectations in this group, yet both sides continue to have great chances to advance after having eliminated their two fellow group members with three matchdays remaining.
El Salvador 9 pts +5
Suriname 7 pts +2
Dominican Republic 1 pts -2
Cayman Islands 0 pts -5
Goals
El Salvador
Osael Romero 38 PK
Lester Blanco 67
Dominican Republic
Erick Ozuna 54
Suriname
Giovanni Drenthe 57
Match Reports:
Highlights:
El Salvador faced off with Suriname in the final match of FIFA World Cup qualifying for the day. The crowd at San Salvador was hoping to see El Salvador finish the first group stage with a perfect 6-0-0 record. In spite having already clinched the group title, El Salvador was using its strongest lineup, and it showed. El Salvador were granted too much time, too much space, and too many clear passing lanes on this night. Osael Romero scored the opener just beyond the half hour mark and La Selecta went into the break up 1-0.
