Bahamas and Mexico among early Nassau winners

The hosts and the holders were victorious on day one of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship.

There were wins for CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship hosts the Bahamas and defending champions Mexico on the opening day in Nassau on Monday.

The home nation sit top of Group A after the opening round of matches and had a Lesley St.Fleur hat-trick to thank as they picked up maximum points in front a vibrant home crowd against a Guyana side making their first appearance at the tournament.

Mexico too avoided an upset on the opening day as they beat Guadeloupe 9-2 – the highest ranked nation in the CONCACAF region battling back from 2-1 behind thanks to a hat-trick from Jose Ramon Maldonado Alonso and a Fausto Jair Aleman Palacios brace.

Three-time CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship winners USA also recovered from a slow start to hammer US Virgin Islands 8-1 in their Group C opener.

Nicholas Klemczak gave the Virgin Islands the lead as they started brightly, against a nation who have never finished lower than fourth in the competition’s history.

However, US captain Nick Perera scored three times from the penalty spot while team-mate Alessandro Canale weighed in with a brace in what proved a comfortable win in the end. Elsewhere in Group C, Trinidad and Tobago were big winners against Antigua and Barbuda on Monday as they joined USA on maximum points.

David McDougall and Kevon Woodley provided the inspiration with seven of their side’s eight goals, as Antigua and Barbuda were left unable to cope on a difficult opening-day outing, while Marc Jankovic’s four-goal haul helped Canada edge past Barbados 6-4.

In a tight contest that saw both Group B sides match one another for long spells, it was the rangy Canadian forward who made the difference, scoring four times along with further efforts from Danilo Pessoa and Maxime Leconte.

Belize saw off a spirited effort from Jamaica to claim a 2-0 win on penalties after ending 5-5 at the culmination of normal timetheir Group A meeting.

Jamaica battled back from 4-0 down to level thanks largely to a Daemion Benjamin hat-trick but, when the clash went to penalties, Belize held their nerve as Marlon Meza and Jermaine Jones scored from the spot.

Monday Results

13.45 – Barbados 4-6 Canada

15.00 – USA 8-1 US Virgin Islands

16.15 – Mexico 9-2 Guadeloupe

17.30 – Trinidad & Tobago 8-1 Antigua & Barbuda

18.45 – Jamaica (0) 5-5 (2) Belize

20.00 – Bahamas 4-1 Guyana

Tuesday fixtures

13.45 – Guadeloupe v Barbados

15.00 – Costa Rica v Panama

16.15 – El Salvador v Turks & Caicos Islands

17.30 – Canada v Mexico

18.45 – Guyana v Jamaica

20.00 – Belize v Bahamas