CARIB SOCCER

COUVA, Trinidad & Tobago – Club Atletico Pantoja (Dominican Republic) and Arnett Gardens (Jamaica) secured spots in the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Cub Championship (CCC), Tier 1 finals with Group A wins on Sunday at Ato Boldon Stadium.

CONCACAF.com takes a look at the first-round matches:

Arnett Gardens 4, Real Hope Football Academy 0

Arnett Gardens jumped from last place to a spot in the finals on the strength of a 4-0 win over Real Hope Football Academy (Haiti).

After a scoreless first half, the Jamaican side exploded for four goals, including three by forward Fabian Reid – all with his right foot. The 26-year-old struck for the first and last goals (65’, 90’+2), both from 10-yards out and made it 2-0 from the penalty spot (86’).

Leon Strickland (90’) netted the other goal from five yards off a left-sided cross by the outstanding Reid.

W Connection 0, Club Atletico Pantoja 3

Atletico Pantoja maintained its unbeaten record with a 3-0 win over host and three-time champion W Connection.

The in-form Luis Espinal (27’) — who put two goals past Real Hope on Friday — gave the Dominican Republic power a 1-0 lead near the midway point of the first half, slotting in with his right foot from seven-yards out.

Four minutes later, Armando Maita (31’) doubled the advantage off a neat pass by Espinal, before Jean Carlos Lopez (65’) completed the scoreline with a second-half penalty kick.

The Competition

Club Atletico Pantoja and Arnett Gardens will join the top two teams from Group B (opens play on February 7) in the CCC finals, with the champion gaining a place in the 2019 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, while the runner-up and third place finishers will qualify for the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF League.

The fourth-place side will face the winner of the Tier 2 tournament — Caribbean Club Shield — in a playoff to determine the third club that will represent the Caribbean in the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF League. The Tier 2 champion, however, must comply with the minimum CONCACAF Club Licensing requirements to secure participation.

2018 CONCACAF CARIBBEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

First Round

GROUP A (Ato Boldon Stadium – Couva, Trinidad & Tobago)

Team G W D L GF GA Pts

Club Atletico Pantoja 3 2 1 0 6 0 7

Arnett Gardens 3 1 1 1 5 2 4

W Connection 3 1 o 2 2 5 3

Real Hope FA 3 1 0 2 1 7 3

GROUP B (Estadio Cibao – Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic)

Friday, Feb. 9, 2018

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Atlantico FC v Portmore United