The Mexico vs Martinique match ended with a final score of 3-1 in favor of El Tri. Mexico demonstrated a slight improvement over its previous two games, generating more scoring opportunities, and being more dynamic on offense overall. Martinique came into the game with the idea of playing a good match without resorting to “parking the bus”. The Caribbean squad played well but was ultimately defeated by a better team.
Mexico opened up the score with a goal from Marco Fabian in the 20th minute. Luis Montes scored in the 33th minute to give Mexico the 2-0 in what was beginning to look like a rout. Nonetheless, Martinique never gave up and continued to attack. Although rarely successful, the Caribbeans did manage to earn a penalty kick due to a foul committed by Layun.
Kevin Parsemain would go on to convert the penalty kick for Martinique in the 42nd minute, and put the match at 2-1 going into the half time.
The second half was quite entertaining, Mexico dominated possession and generated plenty of scoring opportunities. When Martinique was able to hold the ball, it created speedy attacks that were somewhat dangerous. In the end, the Mexico vs Martinique match ended with a 3-1 final score thanks to a 89th minute goal by Miguel Ponce.
Mexico was slightly better in this match, and will hopefully help build up some momentum going into the Gold Cup quarterfinals. With the victory over Martinique today, Mexico ends Group A in second place with 6 points, 1 point behind Panama. Martinique stays with 3 points and a -2 goal differential, and will have to wait on results from other groups to see if it will qualify to the quarterfinals as one of the best placed third places.
Overall though, it is disappointing that Mexico did not finish Group A in first place, and that it struggled a bit to defeat weak CONCACAF rivals such as Canada and Martinique. Whoever Mexico encounters in the quarterfinals will be tougher to defeat, and it is hard to tell whether Chepo’s Mexico has what it takes to even make it to the final. Taking a look at the Gold Cup 2013 right now, it appears the USA is a big favorite to win it.
