Group C action at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup started on Monday, and it included plenty of goals.
Jamaica got the doubleheader at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, started by earning a creditable shutout win vs. a plucky Suriname squad. Costa Rica, meanwhile, ended its winless streak by defeating Guadeloupe, with Houston Dynamo forward Ariel Lassiter scoring the second goal for Los Ticos.
Here’s how Matchday 1 in Group C at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup went:
Jamaica 2, Suriname 0
(Shamar Nicholson 6′, Bobby Reid 26′)
Jamaica is off to a winning start.
Two first-half goals gave Jamaica three points in its Group C opener against Suriname. Shamar Nicholson opened scoring with a strike from just outside the penalty area after just six minutes, and Bobby Reid doubled the lead with a spectacular volley 20 minutes later.
What a rocket from Jamaica’s Bobby Decordova-Reid! 🚀😱😱 pic.twitter.com/jFpkHbk3Fs
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 12, 2021
Suriname, playing in its first Gold Cup since 1985, found some chances and finished the match with 10 shots, three more than Jamaica.
Costa Rica 3, Guadeloupe 1
(Joel Campbell 6′, Ariel Lassiter 21′, Celso Borges 70′) – (Raphael Mirval 45+5′)
Costa Rica’s winless streak is no more.
Three different goal-scorers found the back of the net for Costa Rica as the nation snapped an 11-game run without a victory, defeating Guadeloupe by a 3-1 mark in the nightcap. Joel Campbell netted the opener in the sixth minute by capitalizing on a mistake from Guadeloupe goalkeeper Yohann Thuram, and Houston Dynamo forward Ariel Lassiter scored his first Costa Rica goal in the 21st after finding the ball rolling across goal as he made a run into the box.
Ariel Lassiter scores his first goal for Los Ticos! 🙌
Costa Rica goes up 2-0 🇨🇷 pic.twitter.com/wz61PqL4sM
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 13, 2021
Guadeloupe stayed in the match, narrowly missing on a free kick in the 43rd minute before Raphael Mirval made it 2-1 right before halftime by scoring on another set piece.
Guadeloupe ceded momentum early in the second half because midfielder Steve Solvet was sent off in the 54th minute after a VAR review, and Celso Borges scored to seal the win for Costa Rica 16 minutes later.
