Juventud Independiente defender Yohance Marshall scored in the final seconds of the fourth minute of injury time as T&T Soca Warriors rallied from a pair of second-half deficits to earn a 4-4 draw with Mexico in one of the wildest matches in Concacaf Gold Cup history, at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Both Mexico and T&T went at it for the Group C crown as though they were playing in the final, and at the end of the match, both sides left it on the field and more importantly, in the net, in a game for the ages.
The Mexicans entered the competition as one of the favourites but found themselves behind the Soca Warriors, and needed victory to top the group, while T&T needed only a draw.
And in front of a packed stadium and enthusiastic fans–mostly Mexican–the teams put on a show and a half with plenty of lead changes and momentum shifts.
The four goals was the most Mexico had ever given up in a Gold Cup game and it was also the highest scoring tie in tournament history.
The Stephen Hart-coached T&T had to come from 0-2 down to take a 3-2 lead in the 67th minute before a wild finish resulted in three goals in under ten minutes.
Mexico went ahead through Paul Aguilar in the 32nd minute when a left-sided cross by Yasser Corona into the box found Carlos Vela, who back-headed the ball towards the far post.
After breaking free from his marker, Aguilar squeezed the ball between goalkeeper Marvin Phillip and the woodwork for his first Gold Cup goal.
Six minutes into the second half, 26-year-old Vela dribbled into the left side of the box, before cutting inside, and right-footing a shot that glanced off the near post, before crossing the line.
Instead of buckling, T&T, led by Kenwyne Jones grabbed hold of the game with a display strength, skill and cleverness that won't soon be forgotten.
In the 55th minute, Jones dribbled 40 yards into the Mexican penalty area and drew defenders Francisco Javier Rodriguez and Diego Reyes towards him.
Sensing an imbalance, Jones poked the ball left towards a racing Keron "Ball Pest" Cummings, who swooped in to finish with his left foot from nine-yards out.
Jones equalised three minutes later, making a brilliant off-the-ball run towards the left post, which allowed him to slot coolly Cordell Cato's right-sided feed past goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.
T&T took a 3-2 lead in the 67th minute with an incredibly well-worked play off a right-sided throw-in by Aubrey David, who connected with Jones in the box.
As Jones was chesting the ball down, two T&T players made planned runs in different directions, seemingly causing confusion in the Mexican defence.
As a result, Cummings was left unattended, allowing him to lash beyond Ochoa into the far-side netting with his left foot from 12 yards.
Mexico, though, spurred on by a vociferous crowd buckled down and netted twice to regain the lead.
First, Andres Guardado equalised in the 87th minute, half-volleying a short clearance that took a slight deflection off the head of Mekeil Williams and eluded Phillip's desperate right hand attempt push overbar.
Mexico thought first place was theirs one minute into stoppage time, when Miguel Layun–positioned on the left–collected a ball punched in his direction by Phillip.
The former Club America star dribbled into the box and sent what appeared to be a half shot-half pass in front of the net, where it deflected off Jones and into the goal.
Prior to anyone having time to catch their collective breaths, T&T was back on level terms as Joevin Jones' in-swinging, left-side corner kick was met by a powerful Marshall header for the game's final goal, the first senior goal for the El Salvador-based T&T player in his tenth appearance, completing the remarkable scoreline at 4-4.
The win secured top spot in the group for T&T with seven points, two more than Mexico and a quarterfinal date with Panama on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Mexico will face Costa Rica, runner-up to Jamaica in Group B in Sunday's other quarterfinal.
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"It was a good game for spectators, not my heart,'' said T&T coach Stephen Hart, whose team is making its best Gold Cup run since reaching the semifinals in 2000.
"We had an objective to get to the quarterfinals. We wanted to win the first game and get the result from Cuba (a 2-0 win on July 12), and not have to play Mexico to get to the quarterfinals.''
Mexico will play Costa Rica in the second quarterfinal game Sunday.
Concacaf Gold Cup Group C results (July 15)
Mexico 4 (Paul Aguilar 31st, Carlos Vela 51st, Andres Guardado 88th,Kenwyne Jones o.g 90th)
T&T 4 (Keron Cummings 54th, 67th, Kenwyne Jones57th, Yohance Marshall 94th)
Teams
T&T: 1. Marvin Phillip (GK); 2. Aubrey David, 18. Yohance Marshall,
4. Sheldon Bateau, 17. Mekeil Williams (Yellow 75); 8. Khaleem Hyland
(15. Dwane James 76th), 13. Cordell Cato, 19. Kevan George, 20. Keron
Cummings (Yellow 59) (10. Willis Plaza 89th), 3. Joevin Jones, 9. Kenwyne
Jones (capt)
Unused substitutes: 22. Adrian Foncette (GK), 5. Daneil Cyrus, 6. Radanfah
Abu Bakr, 7. Jonathan Glenn, 11. Ataullah Guerra, 12. Kadeem Corbin,
16. Rundell Winchester, 23. Lester Peltier
Coach: Stephen Hart
Mexico: 13. Guillermo Ochoa (GK); 5. Diego Reyes, 2. Francisco Rodriguez,
3. Yasser Corona (21. Carlos Esquivel 77th), 22. Paul Aguilar, 6. Hector
Herrera (Yellow 65), 8. Jonathan Dos Santos (9. Jesus Corona 67th),
18. Andres Guardado (capt), 7. Miguel Layun, 10. Giovani Dos Santos
(19. Oribe Peralta 46th), 11. Carlos Vela.
Unused substitutes: 1. Moises Munoz Rodriguez GK), 12. Jonathan Orozco
(GK), 4. Miguel Herrera, 14. Javier Orozco, 15. Oswaldo Alanis, 16. Antonio
Rios, 17. Jorge Torres Nilo, 20. Jesus Duenas, 23. Jose Vasquez.
Coach: Miguel Herrera
Final round-robin standings (July 15)
Group A
Teams
P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
USA
3
2
1
0
4
2
7
Haiti
3
1
1
1
2
2
4
Panama
3
0
3
0
3
3
3
Honduras
3
0
1
2
2
4
1
Group B
Jamaica
3
2
1
0
4
2
7
Costa Rica
3
0
3
0
3
3
3
El Salvador
3
0
2
1
1
2
2
Canada
3
0
2
1
0
1
2
Group C
T&T
3
2
1
0
9
5
7
Mexico
3
1
2
0
10
4
5
Cuba
3
1
0
1
1
8
3
Guatemala
3
0
1
2
1
4
1