HOUSTON, TEXAS – Eloy Room came away with a Gold Cup record 15 saves to help Curacao to its first ever Gold Cup win, 1-0 against Honduras at BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The previous mark was held by Belize goalkeeper Woodrow West, however his 12 saves came in a 4-0 loss to Cuba.
“Good,” is how Room characterized his night with the biggest grin on his face. “Everyone’s happy that we won the game and especially for the fans of Curacao and our island. We win the game and I’m proud of our team and I helped so that’s nice.”
On top of the 15 saves against Honduras, Room also recorded five saves in the 1-0 loss to El Salvador to open Curacao’s 2019 campaign in the tournament.
After the match, Manager Remko Bicentini was asked about Room’s performance to which he sarcastically responded, “Eloy Room is a bad keeper.”
“No, he’s a strong, good keeper,” added Bicentini. “He win this game for us. He picked up a bit of chances from Honduras but he’s a goalkeeper and he must stop the ball.”
While spirits are high in the Curacao locker room, the focus now shifts to the final group match against Jamaica – a rival Room knows well after helping his national team to the 2017 Caribbean Cup over the Reggae Boyz.
The win keeps Curacao’s hopes alive of advancing to the next round of the Gold Cup to continue making history.
“We have always the confidence to go through, only we didn’t win, we didn’t score but now we have the confidence and if we win this game against Honduras then we can beat, also, Jamaica,” concluded Room.
