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Jamaica, S. Africa advance


LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Teafore Bennett scored in the 80th minute to give Jamaica a 3-3 tie with South Africa in the first round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday.

Jamaica and South Africa remain tied for first place in Group C with four points apiece, and clinched spots in the quarterfinals.

Mexico holds third place with three points. The top two finishers from each of the three groups, along with the two best third-place teams, qualify for the quarterfinals. All three teams will next play Wednesday at Reliant Stadium, along with Guatemala. 

Bennett entered the game in the 65th minute and scored on a 4-yard header off Andy Williams' free kick from the right wing. Bennett beat defender Lucky Lekgwathi and headed the ball over goalkeeper Thabani Radebe.

Despite playing with 10 men for 52 minutes, South Africa took a 3-2 lead on Siyabango Nomvete's 11-yard shot in the 56th minute.

South African defender Siboniso Gaxa received a red card in the 48th minute for violent play. He will miss Wednesday night's game against Mexico in Houston.

South Africa scored first on Abram Raselemane's 6-yard volley off Nomvete's header in the 35th minute. Jamaica's Jermaine Hue tied the score one minute later with a 28-yard line drive.

South Africa took a 2-1 lead in the 41st minute when Lungisani Ndlela headed Elrio Van Heerden's corner kick from 5 yards. Damion Stewart's 3-yard header inside the right post off Williams' corner kick tied the score two minutes later.

MEXICO 4, GUATEMALA 0 --Jared Borgetti scored two early goals to lead Mexico to a 4-0 rout of Guatemala in the first round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday.

Gerardo Galindo and Omar Bravo also scored as Mexico remained in contention for a quarterfinal berth by eliminating Guatemala. The top two finishers from each of the three groups, along with the two best third-place teams, qualify for the quarterfinals.

"It's a competition that's not easy to win," Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe said. "But we attacked from the outset and imposed our style of play."

Borgetti, who leads CONCACAF World Cup qualifying with 12 goals, scored his first goal in the fourth minute. He took a pass from Luis Ernesto Perez, eluded defender Victor Hernandez and put a left-footed shot from 13 yards out inside the left post. He scored again nine minutes later, when his shot from 15 yards out deflected off the right hand of goalkeeper Miguel Angel Klee. Borgetti now has 35 career goals, tying him with Luis Hernandez and Carlos Hermosillo for the national team's all-time record.

"Borgetti is a goal scorer," Lavolpe said. "He does very well in getting away from defenders and is able to find the goal."

Goalie Moises Munoz made four first-half saves in registering the shutout.

"(Four) minutes into the game, we made a defensive error trying to clear the ball," Guatemala coach Ramon Maradiaga said. "They took advantage of that opportunity and proved they were the superior team."

Guatemala's Guillermo Ramirez will miss the team's game against South Africa on Wednesday after he put his finger in the face of referee Oscar Ruiz, who gave him a red card in the 88th minute.


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