It was an emphatic display from Honduras, seeking their first Gold Cup title and will have gone some way to answering their critics after their opening game draw with Guatemala.
For a brief moment it seemed an upset could be on the cards when Grenada took the lead, stunning their opponents with a 19th minute goal from Clive Murray at a packed FIU Stadium.
But the goal, Grenada’s first at a Gold Cup, merely served to spark Honduras into life.
The Hondurans led 3-1 at the interval thanks to two goals from the lively Jerry Bengston and one from Costly and they didn’t ease off after the break.
Grenada went close to pulling one back when Delroy Facey hit the post but then the ‘Spice Boys’ fell apart.
With total breakdown in the Grenadian defense who unwisely sought to push up and play an offside trap, Costly scored two more and then in the final two minutes Walter Martinez and Alfredo Mejia added insult to injury with a goal each after they were left totally free.
The score was cruel on the injury-ravaged Grenadians after they had competed well until midway through the second half but it was also a reminder that Honduras, who qualified for last year’s World Cup finals in South Africa, are serious contenders.
“They made things complicated for us with that early goal but then we started creating chances and thankfully we created those chances,” said Honduras’s Colombian coach Luis Fernando Suarez.
Most encouraging of all for Suaraz will be the performances of his two strikers — Costly and Bengston.
Bengston said he felt the pairing were starting to build a good understanding.
“In the few games that we have played together I think we’ve done pretty well and every game that we play, the chemistry gets better and better,” he said.
Honduras face Jamaica in their final game in Group B and a draw would be enough to make it into the quarter-final stage.
Grenada’s coach Mike Adams said he would have to be a “good Dad” in the coming days to pick his players up in time for the final group match against Guatemala.
“We’ve already been ravaged by injuries and early on we lost Leon Johnson who was the man to organize our back-line today,” said Adams.
“I told the team it is all about moments — we were in the game at 3-1 when we hit the post but then we were punished for a schoolboy error.
“They are a world class team and they will punish you for your mistakes — and quite rightly,” he said.
