Gold Cup glory for Mexico

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The Jamaicans were bidding to become the first Caribbean side to win the trophy after going further than any other side from the region before.

But they came up against a side which had controversially progressed to the deciding match after winning contentious penalties in their previous knockout ties with Costa Rica and Panama.

The decisions to award them have led to further claims of corruption within CONCACAF, although those have been dismissed with acceptance from the body bad calls were made by referees.

There was no dependence on debatable calls this time as the Mexicans recorded a deserved victory to secure the trophy.

Andres Guardado – the winner of the Golden Ball award for being the competition’s best player – broke the deadlock after 31 minutes when he steered a left-footed volley into the top corner.

In turn, he became the first player to score in three Gold Cup finals after netting in the 2007 and 2011 versions against the USA.

Jesus Corona made it 2-0 two minutes after the break and Oribe Peralta added a third just after the hour mark.

Darren Mattocks pulled one back late on but by then Mexico were well clear. They now play the Americans on October 9 in a play-off for a Confederations Cup place.

Mexican manager Miguel Herrera said: “We’re very happy. We dominated the ball. We got the rhythm we wanted and controlled the play. It’s a great satisfaction for all of us.”