El Salvador played a tough match against Group B favorite Honduras in their last outing and even though they surrendered a goal in the 91st minute to go down in defeat, El Salvador had reason to believe a win in their next match was highly possible.
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Battling second place Haiti on Monday night at Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium, the Salvadorians put up a tremendous fight throughout the first 45-plus minutes of action.
Allowing Haiti to only fire off 4 shots in the first half, El Salvador's defensive unit minimized a Haiti offense that looked tremendous in their last victory, a 2-0 defeat of Trinidad and Tobago.
Suffering a shutout defeat to aforementioned Honduras, El Salvador's offense showed strong signs of life, rattling off 7 first half shots and although no blasts slipped by Haitian national keeper Frandy Montrevil. With both teams eyeing points to solidify their respective positioning in Group B, the second half was expected to be a tight one.
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The second half began with more defensive intensity from both teams as the clubs remained in a scoreless tie until late in the game.
When Rodolfo Zelaya sent one through in the 76th minute from the center of the box to break the tie, El Salvador finally had the advantage they'd been searching for. Zelaya is one of the top offensive players in the tournament and stepping up when his team needed him the most, the striker gave his team a chance to further its title hopes.
Holding on for the 3 extra minutes of stoppage time, Zelaya and El Salvador earned 3 points and more importantly, advanced to the next round.
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