MIAMI.- World Cup qualification continued Saturday, with some teams kicking off their March matches and others drawing their month to a close.
Guatemala 3 British Virgin Islands 0
Guatemala closed out March with a perfect start to qualification. After Wednesday’s win over Cuba, Los Chapines earned a 3-0 win over the British Virgin Islands. In the 22nd minute, Darwin Lom muscled off his defender and poked his finish home before the goalkeeper could block it. Moises Hernandez added a second, running onto Nico Rittmeyer’s cross into the box and finishing confidently. The lead was three in the 81st minute with Robin Betancourth getting on the end of a ball over the top and scoring just five minutes after entering the contest.
Dominican Republic 6 Anguilla 0
It was also a perfect start for the Dominican Republic, which topped Anguilla 6-0 on Saturday after last week’s win over Dominica. Fresh off participating in the Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying championship, Dorny Romero scored a double, converting a penalty in the 22nd minute and using his left foot to knock in a half-volley in the 27th minute. Nowend Lorenzo also had a pair of goals, with a goal in each half. Romero turned provider and set up Domingo Peralta for a 65th-minute goal, and substitute Luis Espinal put in the final goal in the 74th minute.
Nicaragua 7 Turks and Caicos Islands 0
Ariagner Smith and Juan Barrera each scored twice goals as Nicaragua started its Concacaf World Cup Qualifying campaign with a 7-0 victory over the Turks and Caicos Islands at the Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
Barrera opened the scoring in the third minute, finishing off a low cross that came in from the right side to give La Azul y Blanco an early lead. Smith’s first came five minutes later, as he finished off a team move to double the advantage.
Despite a heavy rain that began to fall as the game progressed, the second half started in the same fashion as the first, with Marvin Fletes scoring from a corner kick just a minute after the restart. One minute after that, Smith added to his debut Nicaragua goal with a second score just a minute later. Barrera got his service from the left side in the 59th minute and completed his brace before making way, as Nicaragua manager Juan Vita made a number of modifications. Two of those changes found the back of the net, with Dshon Forbes scoring on a breakaway in the 78th minute and Matias Moldskred putting the cherry on top in the 87th.
St. Kitts and Nevis 4 Bahamas 0
A Keithroy Freeman double sandwiched around a Rowan Liburd penalty paced St. Kitts and Nevis in a 4-0 win over Bahamas, meaning the Sugar Boyz also finish with a perfect March. Omari Sterling-James came into the contest as a second-half substitute and fired a long-range shot that kissed off the post and in for the fourth goal at Thomas Robinson Stadium.
Antigua and Barbuda 3 U.S. Virgin Islands 0
A pair of familiar faces scored the goals for Antigua and Barbuda in a 3-0 victory against the U.S. Virgin Islands. Veteran forward Peter Byers got on the board in the 26th minute with his long-time Benna Boys teammate Quinton Griffith netting a penalty in the 34th minute and then again from the run of play in the 42nd.
Suriname 6 Aruba 0
Nigel Hasselbaink notched a hat trick in Suriname’s 6-0 victory against Aruba, scoring twice in the first half and once in the second. Ryan Donk was the last to touch a set piece before it went in, adding another to his Suriname account after scoring a 3-0 victory against the Cayman Islands to open qualification. Florian Jozefzoon, on his debut for Dean Gorre’s men, and Roland Alberg also found the back of the net in the win.
