By MARK POUCHET


Sports Desk




WITH two semifinal places available for Group B teams in the Copa Caribe, this evening’s doubleheader at the Larry Gomes Stadium takes on special significance.


This significance derives from the way the teams are lined up in the current standings.






One game remains in group B competition and all four teams-Cuba, Haiti, Suriname and St Kitts and Nevis-are in with a chance of moving through to the final four.






Of course, Haiti, who destroyed the St Kitts’ team 7-2 in their opening match, and Cuba are the favourites. These countries meet in second game of the two-match schedule from 7.15 p.m.






But either Suriname or the Nevisians could possibly sneak in.






For that to happen, one of the teams must have scored an outright win when the final whistle sounds in the game that kicks off at 5 p.m. A similar result in the Cuba/Haiti encounter would have the same effect.






A draw in either of the two games will put paid to St Kitts’s and Suriname’s (one point each) bid for a semifinal place. For if Cuba and Haiti (4 pts each) fail to get a deciding goal in their contest, the one point earned will render the result of the first match merely academic in terms of the teams’ ability to move forward. It would be better for the Kittitians and Surinamese if Cuba were to come out on the losing side. Haiti’s decidedly bigger goal differential (plus five compared to Cuba’s plus one) makes that a preferable option.




But the Cubans and Haitians are unlikely to centre their attention on these permutations. Their focus will rather be on securing a victory today although a draw would not be frowned on.






Friday night at the João Havelange Centre of Excellence there were two such results. But in both cases Haiti and Cuba wasted opportunities that would have sealed their places in the semifinal.






It came back to haunt them as the Haitians were held to a 1-1 draw with the Surinamese. The scoreline was exactly the same in the Cuba/St Kitts/Nevis.






The Haitians got off to a flyer with their second-minute goal from ace striker Golman Pierre. But when they contrived to continually miss the mark, Winston Seller found the equaliser four minutes from regulation to earn his team’s first points of the Copa Caribe campaign.






The Cubans were also dominant in their game against Keith Gumbs and company. But superior possession and goalshooting was of little worth in the end.






Eventual goalscorer Serguei Sanudo and diminutive striker Alberto Delgado, the scorer of a beavertrick in his side’s 4-3 win over Suriname earlier this week, were particularly wasteful for the Cubans.






Within the first 20 minutes of the game, the pair sent at least five efforts wide from good positions in the Nevisian’s box while their goalkeeper Odelin Molina watched passively from the other end.






When Molina finally saw action in the 26th minute it was from the penalty spot. One of his defenders handled the ball from a right-side cross before Austin Huggins stepped up to convert.


Against the run of play, the Kittitians were in front.






The Cuban’s squandering continued with Delgado and Sanudo again the main culprits.






But Sanudo made up for his erring aim later in the game with a right-footed blast from inside the penalty area to give the Spanish-speaking nation a share of the points.