Opening wins for Haiti

By Ian Prescott ian.prescott@trinidadexpress.com
Haiti similarly dominated Bermuda. Haiti has a Polish head-coach Shek Borkowski, who has won with women’s club teams in America and Russia. Fielding an experienced team containing six members of the national team which four years ago lost 5-0 to the US in World Cup qualifying, Haiti also possessed an exceptional stopper in captain Kencia Marcseille, a solid bruising defensive midfielder Shanna Hudson, a penetrative left-winger Manoucheka Pierre-Louis, but non-lethal strikers.
Haiti led 3-0 at the half. First, perennial off-side striker Marie Jean Pierre put in a rebound from close up for the opening goal in the eighth minute, before midfielder Linsay Zullo’s forceful solo run ended with a low shot down the centre of goal in the 37th minute. Left wide midfielder Pierre-Louis gratefully accepted a gift three minute later when an errent clearance picked her out at the back post, where she scored.
Bermuda were marginally better in the second half, where all three goals came in the dying minutes. A fierce 30-yard shot from central midfielder Wisline Dolce made it 4-0 for Haiti in the 86th minute, before Shaunte Todd emphatically replied for Bermuda with a similar long-range shot just a minute later.
Substitute striker Jenerve Charles then made it 5-1 by shooting past advancing Bermudan keeper Jaeda Smith, after running onto a through ball. Later, Bermuda’s Todd almost repeated her long goal from a free-kick, while Haiti’s Jean Pierre, twice, also missed a near open goal, before she was taken off.
The Women’s Caribbean Cup is being contested by Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico and Bermuda in Group A, while Group B contain host Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts-Nevis, Antigua-Barbuda and Martinique.
The four semi-finalists from the eight-team tournament join the US, Mexico, Costa Rica (Central America Group 2 winners) and Guatemala (Central America Group I winners) for the CONCACAF Championship in October, when the top three teams qualify automatically, and the fourth team win a play-off spot to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Another CONCACAF team Canada also qualifies as World Cup host.
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