2007 Caribbean Cup

Haiti lead Caribbean Gold rush (Source: www.fifa.com)

In a monumental shock, the Haitians earned top honours at the Caribbean Cup by edging out heavily favoured hosts Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 in the final and will head to the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup alongside the beaten finalists, Cuba and new boys Guadeloupe.
Haiti, FIFA World Cup™ participants back in 1974, confirmed their recent revival and regional status in the 2007 Caribbean Cup finals from 12-24 January in Marabella and Port of Spain by edging out T&T, who had just come off an impressive world finals debut last summer in Germany.

The Haitians - who played 12 games throughout the course of the preliminaries and finals of this the largest-ever Caribbean Cup - never looked in danger of running out of gas in the final, even though they were up against a T&T side that beat them 3-1 in the first round.

After six preliminary games Haiti ran through the group stages of the finals rarely missing a beat, finishing second to Trinidad in Group A and edging out Group B winners Guadeloupe, led by former France and Valencia standout Jocelyn Angloma, in the semis.

Playing in only their second final in the tournament's 18-year history, Haiti took the lead in the 22nd minute when Alexandre Boucicaut pounced on a rebound to slot home. The impressive Fucien Brunel then added a second ten minutes after the break to send the 18,000 fans at the Hasely Crawford Stadium into a state of stunned silence.

Although Nigel Daniel managed to get one back just before half-time it was too little too late for the hosts - diminished significantly due to overseas commitments in the squad. Regardless of personnel problems, the T&T men - led by tournament top scorer Gary Glasgow - had run through their first four games unbeaten, scoring 12 goals and conceding only three

The Haitian victory was every inch an upset of the formbook and will no doubt be celebrated long into the night in Port au Prince. In Tuesday's earlier consolation game, Cuba picked up third place honours with a 2-1 over Guadeloupe.

Source: FIFA