Honduras is considered the favorite to make a clean run through the CONCACAF Gold Cup's Group B and a victory in their tournament opener against Haiti would provide an early confidence boost while giving the Honduran nationals an idea of the overall talent the team possesses once 2014 World Cup qualifying resumes later this year.
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Honduras started in tremendous fashion with a goal at the four-minute mark. Assisted by teammate Mario Roberto Martinez, forward Rony Martinez sent one from the right side through the top right corner of the goal to put Honduras up 1-0.
Despite the fact that they controlled the majority of possession in the first half and outshot their opponents 16-2, Haiti wasn't able to put a score on the board through 45-plus minutes. Forward's Jeff Louis and Leonel Saint-Preux led the team with 4 shot attempts including 1 each on goal and while they seemed to have a solid plan of attack, Haiti wasn't able to send anything past Honduras keeper Donis Escober.
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Not able to get anything going to start the second half, Haiti watched as Honduras padded their lead late in the match.
A goal from Marvin Chavez in the 78th-minute put the Honduran nationals up 2-0 with slightly over 12 minutes remaining. The Honduras defense didn't allow anything to get by Escober in the second half, closing out the match with a 2-0 victory.
The win certainly gives Honduras an early advantage in Group B since the top 2 teams in each group advance to the elimination round. Honduras prepares to battle El Salvador next while Haiti will take on Trinidad and Tobago. Both matches will be played on Friday, July 12th from Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
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