Martinique accomplished something on Wednesday night at Broncos Stadium at Mile High that it had only done once in team history.
A 3-0 win in its second match of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage marked Martinique’s second victory ever against Cuba and its first since 2012. The win also keeps Martinique’s hopes of advancing to the Gold Cup quarterfinals alive. Martinique now has a 1-1 record in Group A play with a goal difference of -1.
Cuba, on the other hand, sits at the bottom of the Group A standings with no wins in two matches and a goal difference of -10.
Kévin Fortuné led Martinique’s offensive attack with elite playmaking, starting in the final seconds of the first half. The 6-foot forward’s corner kick connected with midfielder Joris Marveaux, who drilled a header into the back of the net in the 45th minute for the match’s first goal.
Then, in the 70th minute, Fortuné did it again. This time, his corner kick found midfielder Stéphane Abaul, who knocked in a goal on a header, too.
With Cuba on the verge of its second consecutive shutout, the team’s frustration rose. In the 81st minute, defender Erik Rizo earned his second yellow card, and Cuba was forced to play the rest of the contest with 10 players.
In the 85th minute, Fortuné took advantage of his team’s undermanned opponent and sealed the victory for Martinique when he broke free from Cuba’s defense to score. Forward Kevin Parsemain hit Fortuné in stride with a slick back-heel pass, and Fortuné sent a shot just past the fingertips of the goalkeeper and into the left pocket of the net.
After breaking a three-match Gold Cup losing streak, Martinique hopes that Wednesday’s match starts a trend that continues when it takes on Group A-leading Mexico on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. in its last match of the Group Stage.
Cuba, which is now the only win-less team in Group A, will be in search of a miracle. It will also play its final match of the Group Stage on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, when it takes on Canada.
The last three wins for Cuba against Martinique were clean sheets, but on Wednesday night, Martinique served Cuba a taste of its own medicine, ending a seven-year drought in the process.
