Sergio Guevara scored a minute and a half into injury time and gave Municipal a 3-2 victory over Joe Public on Thursday, reviving its hopes of reaching the quarterfinals in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Guatemalan side played with an extra man for the final 79 minutes and overcame Andre Toussaint's equalizer for Joe Public in the 67th.
The result improved Municipal to five points, two behind Santos and four behind Group B leader Columbus with two rounds remaining. Joe Public was virtually eliminated, leaving it six points behind Santos and the last quarterfinal berth.
Two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals.
Guevara hit a left-footed effort from the top of the area that eluded Joe Public keeper Marvin Phillip, frustrating the host side which took the early lead despite playing with 10 men, and then had to rally from a one-goal deficit.
Joe Public's chances were damaged as early as the 11th minute when Kareem Moses caught Marvin Avila with a high foot to the groin as the 24-year-old forward sprinted through the midfield.
But it was Joe Public who went ahead in the 15th when Toussaint played a ball into the area to Kerry Baptiste, who with his back to goal returned it to Toussaint at the top of the area. Toussaint volleyed the ball for a right-footed roller just inside the left post.
Municipal, which took the initiative from the start with Pando Ramirez getting two chances within the first five minutes, equalized two minutes later. Avila sent a ball from the byline to right of Joe Public's goal back into the middle of the area, where Ramirez took a touch, faked a shot to open an alley between a picket line of defenders and finished with a left-footed blast past Joe Public keeper Marvin Phillip.
Ramirez added a second in the 48th. A turnover at the top of the Joe Public defensive third was quickly pushed forward by Gonzalo Romero and sent wide right, where Ramirez finished with a left-footed strike to the far side of the net.
Municipal had the better of play for much of the game, with Joe Public occasionally mounting a counter. Ramirez continued to threaten and had his left-footed effort from the edge of the six-yard box blocked by Phillip in the first minute of injury time.
Joe Public's best effort came in the 20th when Kerry Baptiste traded passes with Trent Noel, whose shot was slapped away by Municipal keeper Rony Alvarez.
Municipal continued to threaten and had its best chance to extend its lead in the 57th when Juan Jose Castillo found himself alone in front of goal, only to have his shot carom off the crossbar.
Joe Public also hit the post in the 65th when Gason Gregory worked down the right side of the area only have Alvarez tip his shot off the right upright.
The Trinidadian side equalized when Toussaint flicked Yu Hoshide's corner kick at the near post, squeezing it past Alvarez and the upright.
Joe Public had a late frustration when Alvarez blocked a short-range shot by Micah Lewis in the 87th, and steered Marcus Joseph's follow-up effort around the left post.
Similarly, Municipal was denied in the 90th when a goal off the head of Mario Rodriguez was voided for offside.
Municipal will be home to Columbus for next week's fifth-round match before finishing the group schedule against Santos in Mexico.
Joe Public will have the opposite schedule, travelling to Santos next week before concluding the Group Stage at home against Columbus.
Final
Joe Public 2 (Andre Toussaint 15, 67) v C.S.D. Municipal 3 (Guillermo Ramirez 17, 48, Sergio Guevara 90)
Teams
Joe Public: - 1.Marvin Phillip; 13.Jason Springer, 20.Makan Hislop, 30.Kareem Moses (Red 11'), 34.Jevon Morris; 8.Trent Noel (27.Marcus Joseph 54th), 16.Gayson Gregory, 7.Hayden Tinto (28.Micah Lewis 60th), 14.Kareem Young; 4.Kerry Baptiste (10.Yu Hoshide 64th), 11.Andre Toussaint.
Coach: - Derek King (T&T).
C.S.D. Municipal: - 22.Rony Álvarez; 28.Cristian Noriega (Yellow 75'), 18.Gustavo Cabrera (Yellow 26'), 4.Yony Flores, 2.Jaime Vides (Yellow 79'); 11.Guillermo Ramirez (13.Pablo Hutt 87th), 25.Mario Rodrígue, 24.Sergio Guevara, 8.Gonzalo Romero; 19.Marvin Ávila (30.Carlos Castillo 55th), 20.Juan José Castillo.
Coach: - Guilherme Farinha (Portugal).
Video Highlights: - | Joe Public 2 v Municipal 3 |
Venue: - Marvin Lee Stadium.
Standings
GP W D L F A D PTS
Columbus Crew 4 3 0 1 5 1 +4 9
Santos 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 7
Municipal 4 1 2 1 6 6 +0 5
Joe Public 4 0 1 3 5 12 -7 1
General Game Stats
Joe Public v Municipal
Shots on goal 4 - 6
Shots wide 5 - 8
Fouls 8 - 9
Corner Kicks 4 - 4
Offsides 1 - 1
Possession 50% - 50%
Referee: - Joel Aguilar (El Salvador).
Joe Public beat by Municipal with Ian Prescott (T&T Express).
DESPITE Andre Toussaint's two goals and a Herculean effort to try to win despite playing with a man short for most of the match, Joe Public's 2010 CONCACAF Champions League ambitions seem to have ended at the group stage, after they conceded an injury-time goal to lose their Group B match 3-2 to Guatemala's CSD Municipal on Thursday night at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya.
Joe Public's fortunes hung in the balance until 37-year-old veteran defender Sergio Guevara brushed aside limp defending from 19-year-old substitute Marcus Joseph to beat goalkeeper Marvin Lewis two minutes into injury time with a low shot from the top of the penalty box.
Moments before, both wide midfielder Michah Lewis and Joseph had excellent chances to win the game for Joe Public but could not match Guevara's efficiency in front of goal.
With three defeats and a draw from four matches, Joe Public now have an almost impossible chance of catching group leaders Columbus Crew (9 pts) and Santos Laguna (7 points), who currently occupy the two qualifying spots for the knockout stage.
The Eastern Lions can only reach a maximum seven points in remaining fixtures against Santos in Mexico on Wednesday, before hosting Columbus Crew on October 21.
On Thursday, Joe Public were a man short from the 11th when El Salvador referee Juan Aguilar dismissed Kareem Moses, who caught Marvin Avila with a high challenge. But, needing to win, the Lions pushed forward and led in the 15th when Toussaint hit a low shot to the far corner, after a wall pass from strike partner Kerry Baptiste set him up.
But Municipal fought back quickly, getting a brace from striker Guillermo Ramirez. They were level at 1-1 in the 18th, Ramirez taking Avila's pass in the box and hitting a left-foot blast past keeper Phillip.
Ramirez got his second in the 48th as Municipal came storming out at the start of the second session.
Diabolical defending was a feature of Joe Public's play all night. Left-back Jevon Morris looked atrocious and Jason Springer was better in his days as a defensive midfielder than as a pure defender. Both central defender Makan Hislop and Kareem Young were also very uncertain at times.
The lethargic defending was punished soon after the break when the ball was turned over in the penalty area, where Ramirez scored with a low left-foot shot across goalie Phillip to the far corner to give the Guatemalans their first lead of the match at 2-1. And Juan Castillo had the chance to kill off Joe Public in the 58th when clear of the defenders, but crashed his shot off the underside of the bar from a few metres out.
Joe Public coach Derek King made three changes which seemed to rejuvenate the home team, bringing on Lewis, Joseph and Japanese midfielder Yu Hoishide for the trio of Hayden Tinto, Baptiste and Trent Noel. Joseph and Lewis brought blistering pace to the Joe Public attack and also unsettled Municipal.
Joe Public came close to an equaliser when Antiguan striker Gason Gregory forced his way across the penalty area and hit the top of the right post with a powerful shot in the 65th, before Toussaint flicked home Hoshide's corner kick with his head at the near post to pull Joe Public level at 2-2 in the 66th.
The final 20 minutes produced entertaining end-to-end stuff as both teams went full throttle for the victory. Municipal's Castillo was denied one-on-one by a brilliant save from Phillip, who parried his shot wide in the 87th, and Mario Rodrígue's diving back-post header was ruled offside in the 90th minute.
Joe Public's Lewis hit straight at Municipal keeper Rony Álvarez from the centre of the penalty area in the 85th and Joseph also nonchalantly side-footed the ball wide from a similar position a minute into injury time, after a perfect cut back from Hoshide left him with the Municipal goal at his mercy.
Guevera then scored the dramatic late winner to end a frenetic and entertaining affair.