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Gold Cup: Jamaica wins five-goal affair over Honduras, El Salvador shuts out Curacao

Dever Orgill struck for a brace to lift the Reggae Boyz to a 3-2 win over Honduras in the first Gold Cup match played in the Caribbean.

The Concacaf Gold Cup experienced another first on Monday night, as the competition held games in the Caribbean  for the first time in its history. 

The raucous crowd in Kingston, Jamaica was treated to a thrilling affair between the home side and Honduras, which could go down as the result that determines first place in Group C.

In Monday’s opener, El Salvador took advantage of a first-half scoring opportunity to down Curacao to open the door for it to earn a surprise bid into the knockout round. 

El Salvador 1, Curacao 0 

A move that started down the right presented El Salvador with one of its best scoring chances of the night and La Selecta took advantage of the opportunity.

Nelson Bonilla scored the lone goal of Monday’s opening contest right before halftime. 

Oscar Ceren played a nice through ball between the Curacao defense to find Bonilla, who fired his shot into the center of the net. 

El Salvador created another highlight early in the first half, when goalkeeper Henry Hernandez used some misdirection on a throw to put the ball back in play. 

The victory put El Salvador in good position to qualify out of Group C, but in order to fulfill that dream, it needs to take points from Jamaica and Honduras in its next two games. Portland Timbers midfielder Andres Flores put in a solid 82-minute shift and Houston Dynamo midfielder Darwin Ceren went the distance for El Salvador. 

Jamaica 3, Honduras 2

Jamaica came out on top in the most exciting Gold Cup match we’ve seen so far at the tournament Monday night at the Office. 

Forward Dever Orgill produced a first-half brace with goals in the 15th and 41st minutes to hand the Reggae Boyz an advantage going into halftime. 

Honduras found its way back into the game in the 54th minute by way of an Anthony Lozano strike that was set up by Houston’s Alberth Elis. 

However, Los Catrachos were one goal behind for a short amount of time. Just two minutes later, Jamaica countered through Damion Lowe, who headed home a corner kick to re-open the two-goal advantage. 

Rubilo Castillo added a late goal for Honduras, which may turn out to be a meaningful tally if Group C comes down to goal differential. 

Philadelphia’s Andre Blake, FC Cincinnati’s Alvas Powell, Kemar Lawrence of the New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles FC’s Peter Vassell all started for Jamaica, while Elis and his Houston teammates Romell Quioto and Maynor Figueroa started for Honduras.

Next Up

Group C moves to the United States for games on Friday at a sold-out BBVA Stadium. Jamaica takes on El Salvador, while Honduras faces Curacao. 

The US men’s national team begins its Gold Cup campaign on Tuesday at Allianz Field against Guyana. Panama plays Trinidad and Tobago in Group D’s first game at the home of Minnesota United.