HOUSTON, Texas – Haiti and Qatar looked to be heading towards a 1-1 draw as both nations opened play in Group B of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
But as long as there was time on the clock, there was hope for victory for Haiti, and the two men who have generated the most goals for Haiti at the Gold Cup, Duckens Nazon (8 goals) and Frantzdy Pierrot (7), combined for the game-winning goal in stoppage time.
“It was a long ball,” Pierrot told Concacaf.com as he recalled the play. “First, I was offside, then one of my teammates called me off the ball. As soon as [Nazon] got ahead of the other guy, I knew that I just had to get in the position and just tap the ball in.”
It was the fourth game-winning goal in Gold Cup encounters for Pierrot and seventh across three editions. It marked only the second time that Haiti has started the group stage with a victory with the other instance, in 2019 against Bermuda, also decided by Pierrot.
“It was really emotional for us because it was a tough game and we're really happy we got the three points,” he added. “It's a tough group. Every point counts. It's always good to have that in a group like this, because you never know what's going to happen,” said Pierrot.
The comeback victory marks a fourth in the tournament for Les Grenadiers since 2015. Three of those came in the 2019 edition, when Haiti reached the semifinals for the first time.
That 2019 quarterfinal win, coincidentally, came in the same setting as Sunday’s match. It was at NRG Stadium in Houston where Haiti rallied from a two-goal second half deficit to defeat Canada, 3-2, to book an encounter with eventual champions Mexico.
“You can say good luck,” said Pierrot. “But for us, it's just heart. We’re just trying to play as hard as possible, and try to do our best, and we were able to get the win tonight.”
Another coincidence is that Mexico will be the next opponent, this time in the group stage. Just as the eight-time Gold Cup champions have had some changes since then, Haiti has new faces of its own.
“There's a lot of new players, but the only difference I would say is that we're trying to get to know each other because it's a new group, new staff. We're just trying to figure out how each other plays. We're just trying to get the rhythm going,” said Pierrot.
Haiti coach Gabriel Calderon outlined not only the importance of the win in his post-match comments, but also what the victory does for the Haitian people supporting across the globe.
Pierrot echoed the sentiment.
“It feels good, to be honest. I know people in Haiti, whatever they are going through, when we're playing, they always find a way to watch the game. When we win, it makes them happy. All we're trying to do is make the people proud and make the country proud,” concluded Pierrot.
