International Friendly: Spain 2 Haiti 1

Spain continued their preparations for the Confederations Cup with a straightforward 2-1 victory over Haiti in Miami on Saturday.

The team ranked number one in the world were far from at their best, but first-half goals from Santi Cazorla and Cesc Fabregas were enough to extend their unbeaten streak to 21 matches a run which stretches back to a 1-0 defeat to England in November 2011.
Wildedonald Guerrier replied for Haiti in the second half, but his side have now lost five games in a row as preparations for their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign continue to stutter.

Spain were without Barcelona regulars Xavi and Andres Iniesta, but still fielded a side brimming with experienced stars such as Juan Mata, Fabregas and Cazorla.

Haiti, meanwhile, included Jean-Jacques Pierre of Caen and Jess Louis of Nancy in their starting line-up.
The game started in typical fashion for Spain, as they dominated possession, with Cazorla looking particularly threatening playing between the midfield and attack.
And it was the Arsenal man who broke the deadlock in just the eighth minute, after he was awarded too much space by the Haiti defence and found the bottom corner from 25 yards.
Fernando Torres tried an audacious overhead kick just two minutes later, following a terrific ball from Jesus Navas on the byline, only to see his effort go wide.
But the lead was doubled in the 19th minute, as Mata played a delightful chip over the Haiti defence for Fabregas to head over the onrushing goalkeeper.
Mata and Navas both went close for Spain in the aftermath, but the game headed into half-time at 2-0.
The second half started in a similar vein, but substitute Roberto Soldado missed a gilt-edged opportunity to make it 3-0 in the 60th minute, when he dragged a one-on-one opportunity wide of the post.
And in the 75th minute Guerrier made Spain pay for that wastefulness, as he beat the offside trap before taking the ball around Pepe Reina and finishing into an empty net.
In truth, that goal signalled the end of the game as a contest, as Spain simply monopolised possession to see out yet another win.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *