Fancied Curacao scored late but failed to complete their comeback against Panama, as all three Caribbean Football Union sides lost their opening games of the second round of CONCACAF 2022 World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday.
Playing at the Estadio Rod Carew in Panama City, Curacao went down 2-1 after trailing for most of the second half, following a goalless first half.
Haiti was also on the losing side, slipping to a 1-0 defeat to Canada at home at the Stade Sylvio Cator in Port Au Prince while St Kitts and Nevis suffered a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of El Salvador at home at Warner Park in Basseterre.
The second legs of the CONCACAF Qualifiers will be played on Tuesday.
Curacao, who played unbeaten in the first round and were supremely impressive, found themselves on the defensive for most of the first half as Panama produced an energetic performance urged on by home fans.
In fact, goalkeeper Eloy Room who plays for Columbus Crew in the USA’s Major League Soccer, was forced into a save from the feet of Adalberto Carrasquilla in the fourth minute, to ensure Curacao remained in the contest.
After the break, however, Alberto Quintero put the hosts ahead in the 55th minute with a curling volley before Cecilio Waterman finished off a lightning-quick counter-attack in the 77th minute to double the lead.
There was late drama when Rangelo Janga was on hand to poke home from close range, three minutes from the end after Armando Cooper forced goalkeeper Luis Mejia into a save, but there was no time for the equaliser.
Meanwhile, Haiti also tasted disappointment when Cyle Larin collected Jonathan Osorio cross to score in the 14th minute, and leave Canada with the points away from home.
Frantzdy Pierrot twice came close to finding the scoresheet for Haiti but Canada managed to keep a clean sheet.
For their part, St Kitts endured a chastening experience as David Rugamas netted a first-half double to propel El Salvador to an easy win.
CMC
