In a battle of the two unbeaten teams in Group B, it was Mexico that edged The Bahamas, 5-4, to win that group in the 2023 CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Beach Soccer Championships at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas, Wednesday night.
The loss means that The Bahamas finished in second place in the group with four points and will have a showdown against Panama in the quarterfinals on Friday. That match will get underway at 6 p.m. Mexico wins the group with the full nine points.
The Bahamas had four different scorers who found the back of the net on Wednesday. They were Wood Julmis, James Thomspon, Gary Joseph and Kyle Williams. Mexico's goal scorers were goalkeeper Gabriel Macias, Diego Martinez and Jose Vizcarra. Macias and Martinez had two goals each.
Team Bahamas' head coach Alexandre Soares, of Brazil, said Mexico was a very tough side which is ranked at number three in CONCACAF.
"It was a good and difficult game. We played well. We made some mistakes in defense but we will look to improve for the next game," Soares said. "For us, the most important thing was not to lose players to yellow cards, red cards or injury. The players are OK for Friday."
Mexico went into the third period with a 4-2 lead and it looked like they were about to run away with it. Joseph found the back of the net from almost half of the field, catching Macias off guard with 5:46 left in the game to bring The Bahamas to within 4-3. Unfortunately, any momentum the hosts had were taken away two seconds later when Martinez scored on the kickoff that caught Bahamian goalkeeper Michael Butler by surprise. Mexico led 5-3 at that point.
Veteran Kyle Williams took a shot from his own half that went past Macias to cut into Mexico's lead again, this time at the 3:39 mark in the final period. Mexico still led 5-4. As expected, The Bahamas tried to get another goal, but Mexico stopped the attempts down to the last second.
Mexico got the scoring underway at the 4:23 mark in the first third on a Vizcarra shot to put them up 1-0. It was a brotherly connection when Evelt Julmis found his brother Peter Julmis in the Mexican's defense and he tied the game at 1-1 eight seconds after Vizcarra scored. Martinez gave Mexico the lead again when he scored at the 3:14 mark in the first period to put his team up, 2-1. The first third ended with that same score.
Maicas caught Butler off his line at the 9:15 mark in the second period, putting Mexico up 3-1. Thompson snuck a goal past Maicas on a Daron Beneby missed shot with 3:42 left in that period to cut Mexico's lead to 3-2. Maicas scored again in that period to put Mexico up 4-2 at the end of the second period.
The Bahamas' captain Gavin Christie said they will use today, which is an off day, wisely, as he forecasted Friday's matchup with Panama.
"Tomorrow (today) is a recovery day. We need it, as we had three tough matches in three nights. We will relax, have ice baths, treatment and get ready for war on Friday," Christie said. "Panama is a very strong and physical team. We are excited to be at home and in the quarterfinals. It is win or go home and every game here on out will be like a final."
Christie appealed for the fans to come out and support the team with their colors and flags.
In the match before The Bahamas and Mexico game, in Group B action between Guatemala and Belize, Guatemala won 3-2. El Salvador won a lopsided match against Costa Rica, 7-1. The Turks and Caicos Islands took care of Guadeloupe, 5-3. The United States of America won 5-1 over Panama. In the opening game of the day, Trinidad and Tobago got a slim 3-2 win over the Dominican Republic.
Today is a rest day and action will resume on Friday with the quarterfinals. Those games get underway at 3 p.m.
This is the third time in 10 years The Bahamas is hosting the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships.
Admission is free for the entire tournament.
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