Suriname's Inter Moengotapoe completed the group phase of the inaugural CONCACAF Caribbean Shield with the best record of all eleven teams as they completed three victories in as many matches to seal their place in the semi-finals.
Inter dominated Guadeloupe's Unite Sainte-Rosienne (USR) 5-1 in their closing Group A match at Universidad Isa on Tuesday. Joel Baja opened the scoring in the 6th minute but Inter had to wait until the 37th minute to break down the USR defence with Stefano Rijssel putting his name on the scoresheet.
Romano Holtuin added a third goal in the 64th while Donny Fer (78th) and Holtuin again in the 88th completed the rout for Inter. CSR's lone goal was scored by Steeve Desert seven minutes from the end.
Aruba's Deportivo Nacional finished second in Group A with a spirited 3-2 victory over Barbados' Weymouth Wales to secure final semi-final spot as the best second placed team in the three groups.
Nacional opened the scoring on four minutes through Lennie Regis and would build on that promising start with two further goals from Kenroy Ranger in the 24th and Jason Fontalvo Dominguez in the 69th minute.
At that stage it appeared to be smooth sailing for Nacional but the "Bajan" boys were not prepared to lay down without a fight. They created some panic for Nacional in the closing stages with Arantees Lawrence pulling a goal back in the 90th minute and Romario Harewood cut the lead to one with another item two minutes into added on time.
Martinique's Club Franciscain finished as the second best overall group winner, topping Group C with a commanding 5-2 victory over Bodden Town FC of Cayman Islands in what was a semi-final decider with both teams keeping themselves in the running with favourable results in their two previous matches.
But Franciscain proved to be too much on the day. Bodden Town got off to the better start, surging ahead in the 11th minute with a goal by Tevon Levien. But Franciscain hit back soon after with Yindi Tarrieu grabbing the equaliser for the French-speaking club in the 21st minute before Johnny Daniel Marajo made it 2-1 seven minutes later.
Yann Timon put Franciscain 3-1 up in the 37th and Stephane Abaul then put his side three goals ahead for a 4-1 scoreline on 54th minute.
Franciscain Coach Jean Dominique later said it was his team's biggest accomplishment in some time to have reached the semi-final stage of a CONCACAF Caribbean competition.
"It's a great achievement for the club. We won two of our three games which I think is good for us playing away from home. The main thing for us was to win our final game and we came here with the intention and a plan to secure the victory," Dominique said.
"Now for us the dream is still alive. Our next goal is to win the next match and qualify for the final. We have dreams of going all the way and making it to an even higher level which is the CONCACAF League," he added.
"So far we are on our way and we will now recover from these three matches and try to come out strong again in the semi finals," Dominique said.
Kareem James struck for Bodden Town to cut the deficit to two in the 70th minute but Christof Jougon had the final say for the Martinique club with an 89th minute goal for a 5-2 final scoreline.
Real Rincon had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Avenues United of St Vincent/Grenadines but it was enough to give them first spot in Group B as they ended on four points, same as second placed Avenues but finished ahead by virtue of a better goal difference.
Myron Samuel put Avenues 1-0 ahead on 5 minutes and Ray Snagg doubled the lead in the 62nd minute. But Real Rincon forced themselves back into the contest with a late surge. First it was Jermaine Roberto Widster in the 62nd minute and then Fitzgerald Frans scored what turned out to be one of the club's biggest goal in their history on 90 minutes, sealing their semi-final passage in a CONCACAF tournament for the first time.
In the other Group C contest played at Estadio Cibao, Cayon Rockets FC of St Kitts'Nevis ended their Caribbean Shield campaign on a winning note after two successive defeats, puling off a 3-1 victory over Centro Dominguito. The defeat left Centro in second place with five points, one less than group winners Club Franciscain.
An own goal by Melroy Morton put Cayon 1-0 ahead in the 23rd before St Kitts'Nevis international Carlos Bertie pushed his team further ahead in the 56th minute and Kareem Galloway made sure of the three points for Cayon with a goal in the 89th minute. Ivanny Calvenhoven got the lone item for Dominguito in the 79th minute.
Friday's Semi-Final match ups will see Inter Moengotapoe facing Deportivo Nacional at 5pm at the Estadio Cibao and Club Franciscain meets Real Rincon in the second game of the double header at 8pm also at Cibao.