Ricardo Ade struck on a deflected 61st-minute free kick to lift Haiti to a 2-1 victory over nine-man Martinique to close both teams' Concacaf Gold Cup in their Group B on a sizzling Sunday afternoon at Toyota Stadium.
Carnejy Antoine also scored early for Haiti, which earned some thoroughly deserved consolation after performing admirably in difficult circumstances throughout their group campaign.
Haiti had to win two preliminary matches to reach the group stage, then lost roughly two-fifths of its roster because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
It played Sunday's group finale with only two players available on its bench after appearing to run out of steam in Thursday's 4-1 loss to Canada in a game it played with only three subs.
Kevin Fortune pulled Martinique level with what was chronologically the 1000th goal in Gold Cup history eight minutes after the break.
But he would see two of his teammates dismissed for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity: Captain Sebastien Cretinoire on the foul that led to Ade's match-winner following a video review, and then substitute Burner Patrick 12 minutes from full time.
Goals
Three Things
- BIG PICTURE: It's a shame Haiti aren't one of the eight teams in the final round of Concacaf World Cup qualiyfing, because they have played some of the more entertaining soccer in this tournament. At the same time, the fact they scored only three goals here -- including only two in a finale when Martinique 'keeper Arnaud Huyghues des Etages made six saves -- perhaps reflects why they fell short of reaching that final qualifying stage.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It's really more like the sequence of the match, when Ismael Cornejo first brandished only a yellow card for Cretinoire's tug down of Ronaldo Damus, then reviewed the play, then pulled out a straight red instead. Then after all that, Ade stepped up and hit a free kick that caromed fortuitously off Martinique's defensive wall on its way across the line.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Ronaldo Damus was a constant nightmare for Martinique's back line and earned both fouls leading to red cards. Honorable mention to Huyghes des Etages, who played well in defeat.
