Trinidad, El Salvador into quarterfinals

HOUSTON: Kenwyne Jones had a goal and an assist, helping Trinidad and Tobago to a 2-0 victory over 10-man Honduras to advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Jones, who plays for Stoke City of the English Premier League, converted a penalty kick with a deft touch to the left of Honduras goalkeeper Jose Mendoza in the 47th minute. The score came after referee Marco Rodriguez whistled Orlin Peralta for a foul in the penalty area on Cornell Glenn.
Nearly 20 minutes later, Jones served Kevin Molino with a precise ball into the box off a pass by Khaleem Hyland. Molino deposited it into the back of net.
Despite the loss, Honduras (2-1, 6 points) finished atop Group B after wins over Haiti and El Salvador which earlier qualified for the final eight when it edged Haiti 1-0, as Rodolfo Zelaya scored off a saved penalty kick in the second half.
Honduras played a man down since the 37th minute, when Jose Velasquez was red-carded.
“It wasn’t a good game,” Honduras coach Luis Fernando Suarez said. “The ejection complicated our attempts to arm the team properly.
“Fortunately, if we could lose one game, it was this one,” added Suarez, who described Trinidad and Tobago as potent and strong.
With the win, Trinidad and Tobago (1-1-1, 4 points) dropped Haiti (1-2, 3 points) out of the competition.
“We knew we had to play for the result, but more important for me was the positive approach the team took,” Trinidad and Tobago coach Stephen Hart said. “We tried to not only keep possession of the ball but to attack and create some opportunities.”
Trinidad and Tobago reached the knockout stages for the first time since losing 1-0 to Canada in the semifinals of the 2000 Gold Cup.
Gold Cup group-stage play concludes Tuesday in East Hartford, Connecticut, with Costa Rica facing the United States and Belize playing Cuba, the latter two teams having no points through two matches.
“We came here to have a good Gold Cup,” Zelaya said. “Hopefully we can surprise some people in the next round.
“This is important for us. “We know we’re not in the (World Cup qualifying) hexagonal round.”
Zelaya netted the goal after Haiti goalkeeper Frandy Montrevil stopped his penalty kick in the 76th minute. The goal was not without controversy, as Haiti players adamantly protested linesman Philippe Biere’s foul call on Jean Marc Alexandre, which was upheld by referee Javier Santos.
It was Zelaya’s third goal of the tournament. He scored twice in a 2-2 draw against Trinidad and Tobago to open group play July 8.
“The pressure was there,” El Salvador coach Agustin Castillo said. “We could have failed to qualify despite playing well the previous two games.”
Zelaya was twice denied by the post in the first half, including a free kick from midfield in the 39th minute that caught Montrevil off his line.
The post first foiled Zelaya in the 18th after Montrevil whiffed on a clearance attempt outside his box, giving the Salvadoran an empty net. But his shot rattled the far post.
El Salvador had a goal disallowed in the 71st minute on an offside call off a free kick.
Haiti, while more physically imposing and speedier on the wings, failed to contain the smaller but more technically sound Central American side, which controlled much of the action.
“My players today didn’t come out to play,” Haiti coach Israel Blake Cantero said. “Their legs weren’t there; mentally, they weren’t there.
“We didn’t know how to play with the pressure of knowing we needed only a tie to advance.”