Following their victory over Suriname, Puerto Rico is one win away from qualifying for the Gold Cup for the first time in their history.
Starting XI
Puerto Rico (4-4-2): Joel Serrano (GK); Nicolas Cardona, Sydney Paris, Zarek Valentin, Darren Rios; Wilfredo Rivera, Juan O’Neil, Devin Vega, Gerald Diaz; Ricardo Rivera, Roberto Ydrach,
Suriname (4-2-3-1): Warner Hahn (GK); Navajo Bakboord, Anfernee Dijksteel, Myenty Abena, Shaquille Pinas; Dhoraso Klas, Kenneth Paal, Sheraldo Becker, Mitchell te Vrede, Diego Biseswar; Tjaronn Chery
First Half
Puerto Rico came into this match as massive underdogs and as underdogs do, they scrapped. The match began with a moment not in their favor but they came out on the right side of it.
After controlling a through ball played into the box, Sheraldo Becker, Suriname’s best player, made his way past an onrushing Joel Serrano. Squandering the open goal, Becker misplayed his shot, ending the attack with a dribbling shot wide of the post.
Suriname continued on the front foot. Minutes after the Becker chance, they stood over a free kick in a dangerous area. Fortunately for Puerto Rico, the shot flew straight into the hands of Serrano who made a comfortable catch.
Puerto Rico followed that with a free kick of their own. Devin Vega fired a powerful shot to the near post forcing a save from Warner Hahn.
The seesaw nature of the match continued as Suriname continued to threaten. Sidney Paris had a clearance blocked in his own box. The resulting loose ball was picked up by Suriname, but Serrano was alert to the cross and covered it before it could reach its target.
Serrano came up massive again with two saves within minutes of each other. A floating cross into the box was directed at the goal but Serrano was equal to it making a safe catch. Minutes later, he was tested again. This time, he would scurry to his back post to save a close-range header while clattering into the post.
Serrano’s superhuman first half kept the match level. Puerto Rico had their opportunities but as Head Coach Charlie Trout said, “We kept the ball well but once we got into the final third we didn’t do enough.”
Second Half
The second half played out much tighter than the first half. Neither team was able to create many clear-cut opportunities on goal.
Puerto Rico came close in the 74th minute. Following a brilliant individual effort from Gerald Diaz, he found himself on the edge of the six-yard box but the pass into his feet was swept away by a Suriname defender before he could get off a shot.
The final moments of the match, and nine minutes of stoppage time, completely favored Suriname. Their best effort of the match came six minutes into stoppage time. Suriname did well to work the ball into the left side of the box. An inviting ball was crossed into the box that found the head of an attacker just outside the six-yard box.
The resulting header was fired on goal, but Serrano was equal to it making a diving, reflex save to deny Suriname. A match of this magnitude was almost destined for penalty kicks. Following a 0-0 draw after regular time, that dream became a reality.
Before the end of regulation, Trout made a key substitution replacing man-of-the-match Serrano with Sebastian Cutler specifically for the penalty kicks.
Penalty Shootout
Suriname went first, scoring their first two attempts. Puerto Rico began the shootout with a make, but the second attempt resulted in a miss. The shootout equalized as Suriname missed their third kick while Puerto Rico made theirs.
Suriname’s fourth shot was the defining moment of the shootout. Mitchell te Vrede approached the penalty spot with a confident, stuttering approach before putting his shot to the right. Cutler dove the correct way and made a comfortable save to put Puerto Rico in the catbird seat of the shootout.
Puerto Rico would make their fourth shot giving them the advantage heading into the last shots for each team. Suriname would make theirs putting the spotlight on Gerald Diaz with an opportunity to win the match. Despite the keeper diving in the correct direction, Hahn was unable to save the shot as it nestled into the side netting.
CONCACAF Gold Cup Preliminary Round – Round 1: Puerto Rico 0 – 0 Suriname (Puerto Rico wins pens 4-3)
Preliminary Round – Round 2
This victory places Puerto Rico one step away from a historic qualification for the Gold Cup. Standing in their way is Martinique, who were victorious in their first-round matchup against St. Lucia 3-1.
Martinique is currently in the midst of their 8th appearance in the tournament having qualified for the group stage in the last 4/5 editions. The match will take place Tuesday, June 20th at DRV PNK Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
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