Hernandez fires Mexico into final four
Reuters - Sunday 19 June 2011, 02:28
EAST RUTHERFORD - Javier
Hernandez scored his sixth goal at the CONCACAF Gold Cup on
Saturday as Mexico came from behind to beat Guatemala 2-1 in the
quarter-finals.
The defending champions needed two second half goals to
avoid a monumental upset after Guatemala skipper Carlos Ruiz had
caught the Mexican defence napping to score in the fifth minute.
Substitute Aldo De Nigris put the Mexicans back on level
terms when he scored after a goal-mouth scramble early in the
second half before Manchester United striker Hernandez spared
his team's blushes with a back-heeled winner in the 66th minute.
Hernandez scored a hat-trick in Mexico's opening game
against El Salvador and two more in their second pool game
against Cuba and is the leading scorer in the tournament, with
twice as many goals as his closest pursuer.
Mexico, missing five players who were suspended for failing
a doping test earlier in the tournament, will now play Honduras
in the semi-finals in Houston on Wednesday.
Honduras booked their place after beating Costa Rica on
penalties when they finished locked at 1-1 after extra-time in
the opening leg of the double-header at the New Meadowlands
Stadium.
The remaining two quarter-finals will take place in
Washington DC on Sunday with the United States playing Jamaica
and Panama facing El Salvador.
The eventual winner of the tournament will represent North
and Central America and the Caribbean at the 2013 Confederations
Cup in Brazil.