Tijuana, MEXICO - Anthony Chimienti scored three goals and helped rally the two-time champion United States to a 6-2 victory over debutante Bahamas in the opening game of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship on Wednesday.
In the second game of the first-day doubleheader, Christopher Flores scored four times to lead defending champion and host Mexico to a 10-0 win over Canada, which is returning to the championship after a two-year absence.
The tournament is being played seven weeks after it originally was scheduled to take place. Concerns over swine flu, which resulted in Mexican government officials closing schools nationwide in April, caused CONCACAF to cancel the semifinals and finals of its Under-17 Championship in Tijuana, delay the second leg of the Champions League final in Cancun, and postpone the beach championship in Puerto Vallarta.
Leslie St. Fleur gave the Bahamas the lead six seconds after the opening kickoff, but Chimienti equalized 1:11 later. Brendon Taguinod put the USA, the 2006 and 2007 CONCACAF champion, ahead with 1:14 remaining in the first period and Chimienti scored his second less than a minute into the second period to put the United States in control 3-1.
Yuri Morales and St. Fleur traded goals before the end of the second to leave the USA ahead 4-2, and Morales added a second early in the third period before Chimienti closed out his day with a third with 2:02 remaining.
The Bahamas finished without starting forward Nesley Jean and assistant coach Roberto Ceciliano, the former U.S. beach national team manager. Both were ejected with less than two minutes to play in the second period.
Mexico went ahead 44 seconds after the start on the first of two goals by Ricardo Villalobos. Gustavo Rosales added the first of his three goals with 4:39 remaining in the first period to double Mexico’s lead and then tacked on another 55 seconds into the second. Then Flores added goals on either side of Rosales’ second, all in a span of less than five minutes, to put Mexico well in control 6-0 with 2:42 remaining in the second.
Isaac Rodriguez accounted for Mexico’s other goal just before the end of the second.
The results left the United States and Mexico atop their respective groups in the six-team event, with the finalists both qualifying for the Beach Soccer World Cup in the United Arab Emirates November 16-22.
The five-day CONCACAF championship continues on Thursday with El Salvador playing its first game against Canada in Group A, and Costa Rica taking on the Bahamas in Group B.
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