Late goal denies Panama win over Haiti in Gold Cup opener

A late goal from Sony Norde rescued a point for Haiti against Panama in the opening match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup as the Group A rivals played out a 1-1 draw on Tuesday evening.

Clear-cut chances were at a premium in the first half, but Panama edged the early stages and could have taken the lead within 10 minutes as Anibal Godoy's free kick sailed narrowly wide.

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Johny Placide of Haiti was the busier of the two goalkeepers, pulling off saves to deny Luis Tejada in the 20th minute and Alberto Quintero just before half time.

It took Panama until the 56th minute to break the deadlock, Quintero latching on to Blas Parez's headed pass before firing into the bottom corner from outside the box.

Haiti had precious few shots on target during the 90 minutes but made Panamanian goalkeeper Jaime Penedo work just after the hour mark as Jean Sony Alcenat's blistering effort was snuffed out before it could hit the top corner.

Panama had several opportunities to put the game beyond their opponents, with Placide pulling off saves to thwart Perez and Abdiel Arroyo in the latter stages, and they would soon regret squandering them.

Haiti's equaliser came four minutes from time when a swift break ended with Norde latching on to a through-ball from Wilde-Donald Guerrier and beating Penedo at close range to ensure the opening match of the tournament ended in a draw.