Frisco, TX — El Salvador extended their lead atop Group A — and qualified for the quarterfinal while they were at it — with a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago at Toyota Stadium on Wednesday night.
Goals from Jairo Henríquez and Walmer Martínez were enough to break down Trinidad, and punch La Selección’s ticket to the knockout stages.
From the off, it was mainly all El Salvador, with Trinidad playing with five at the back in defense and often sitting in a low block, as they had in their 0-0 draw against Mexico. El Salvador manager Hugo Pérez had watched Trinidad play Mexico, and knew the Soca Warriors would play defensively, but not to the extent that they did.
"We talked about the fact they could come out (defensively), but after analyzing the game against Mexico, they went out looking for the tie,” Pérez said. ”I never thought they'd sit with five guys back."
The first good chance of the match came in the 25th minute for El Salvador, when Josh Perez tore down the right hand flank and pulled the ball back expertly for Joaquín Rivas, but Trindadian goalkeeper Nicklas Frenderup made a tremendous save to deny Rivas.
Soon after, in the 30th minute, Henriquez did extremely well to turn Trinidad defender Jelani Perez, before unleashing a 25-yard strike in off the post and into the bottom corner for the matches opening goal.
Henriquez later had a chance to double his tally, forcing a decent save from Frenderup in first half stoppage time.
In the second half, the Soca Warriors had a couple of chances to even the score. First, in the 63’ minute through Reon Moore, whose shot was goal bound until Eriq Zavaleta made a last-gasp block to keep La Selección’s clean sheet intact.
Shortly after, in the 65th minute, El Salvador defender Alex Larin’s clearance smacked the cross bar, as he prevented Marcus Joseph from tapping home an equalizer for Trinidad.
In the 85th minute, Frenderup made another great save to keep Trinidad within one.
However, in second half stoppage time, Walmer Martínez sealed the deal for El Salvador. In a ridiculous sequence, Frenderup saved Amando Moreno’s effort, the ball then ricocheted off both posts, and Martínez was on hand to tap the ball home.
No matter what happens in the match between Mexico and Guatemala on Wednesday night, El Salvador will remain on top of the group heading into their clash with Mexico on Sunday. Despite making it to the Quarterfinal, Pérez remains intent on beating Mexico and trying to win Group A.
"We're not going to relax. Mexico is the best in Concacaf, and although we're qualified, we're going to come out to play."