MIAMI, Florida – Cuba are the new leaders of Group B of League C of the Road to W Gold Cup following their 2-0 victory against Guadeloupe on Friday at the Stade Municipal Saint-Anne in Saint-Anne, Guadeloupe.
Cuba now sit atop the group with six points through two matches, while Guadeloupe are still on the hunt for their first point after two games.
The star of the first half was Guadeloupe GK Anais Hatchi, who made a slew of saves, beginning with a stretch to her left to deny Jessica Alvarez’s attempted penalty in the 6’ after a previous Guadeloupe foul in the area.
Hatchi kept coming up big, making an incredible save to deny Cecil Aldana in the 28’ and then another soaring stop in the 31’ on a buzzing effort from Eunises Nunez.
Cuba finally broke through in the 35’ when a shot from Aldana trickled past Hatchi, who was a few feet in front of net, only for an attempted clearance to hit the leg of Guadeloupe DF Sarane Gustarimac and deflect into net for a 1-0 Cuba lead.
Cuba then tacked on a second score right before halftime through Alvarez, who atoned for her early penalty miss with a powerful left-footed finish to make it 2-0 in the 44’.
Guadeloupe looked to jumpstart its attack and pull a goal back, but the last line of the Cuban defense stood firm and kept the hosts at bay until the final whistle to record the three points.