1 | PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Andres Guardado scored again, with no penalty kick needed this time, and his teammates finally managed some goals, too. |
2 | Mexico ensured the final wouldn't come down to any calls in the final minutes with a 3-1 victory over upstart Jamaica for the CONCACAF Gold Cup title Sunday. |
3 | Guardado had his fourth goal of the knockout rounds, and Jesus Corona and Oribe Peralta also scored as El Tri won its seventh Gold Cup. |
4 | It was a convincing performance for coach Miguel Herrera and his team after some shaky play and contentious moments in the previous two games. |
5 | Jamaica had made a rousing run to the final, stunning the U.S. in the semis to become the first Caribbean nation to reach the Gold Cup's championship match. |
6 | And the Reggae Boyz looked as though they belonged in the opening minutes, keeping the pressure on Mexico with several promising scoring chances but never putting a shot on goal. |
7 | But then El Tri started to find the gaps in the defense, and a yellow card for Jamaica helped lead to Mexico's first goal. |
8 | The Reggae Boyz hadn't trailed since early in the second half of its Gold Cup opener. |
9 | Mexico, which already held the record for most Gold Cup titles, is 7-1 in finals. |
10 | El Tri will face the U.S., the 2013 Gold Cup champ, on Oct. 9 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, for CONCACAF'S spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. |
11 | ''We won a game today, but we don't accomplish our goal yet,'' Herrera said. |
12 | The only way Mexico had been able to score in the knockout rounds before Sunday was on penalty kicks, all three by Guardado. |
13 | And two of those came on late, questionable calls. |
14 | Against Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, a scoreless game was moments from going to a shootout when Guardado converted his penalty in the final minute of extra time. |
15 | Mexico had been the better team that day, but that wasn't the case in the semifinals. |
16 | Down to 10 men, Panama was on the verge of victory when a disputed hand ball set up a penalty for Guardado in second-half stoppage time, and he scored on another for the winner in extra time. |
17 | Mexico had gone 272 minutes since one of its players scored on anything other than a penalty when Guardado put El Tri ahead for good Sunday. |
18 | Jonathan dos Santos found Paul Aguilar out wide on a free kick, and Aguilar crossed it to Guardado, whose left-footed volley made it 1-0 in the 31st minute. |
19 | Guardado, voted top player of the tournament, had also been the last Mexico player to score on anything other than a penalty with his goal in the 88th minute against Trinidad and Tobago in the final group stage match. |
20 | Any chance of a Jamaica comeback quickly evaporated after halftime. |
21 | Just over a minute in, Jesus Corona, who had failed to convert two good chances in the first half, stole the ball from Michael Hector and pushed forward. |
22 | The 22-year-old forward slid his left-footed shot from the edge of the area under the legs of Wes Morgan for a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute. |
23 | Corona was selected top young player of the tournament. |
24 | Another mistake by Hector in the 61st minute put Mexico up 3-0. |
25 | He whiffed on an attempted clearance, and the ball went right to Peralta for an easy goal. |
26 | Shortly after, Guardado came off to a thunderous ovation from the pro-Mexico crowd of 68,930 at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. |
27 | ''We really managed the game in the correct way,'' Herrera said. |
28 | Darren Mattocks scored in the 80th minute to pull the Reggae Boyz within 3-1. |
29 | A magical tournament over in defeat, Jamaica coach Winfried Schaefer proudly held out the medal hanging around his neck. |
30 | ''For me, this is not the silver, this is gold,'' he said. |