Honduras and Mexico reach 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship semi-finals

Honduras earned a 2-0 win over Costa Rica to reach the semi-finals ©AFP/Getty Images

Honduras and Mexico secured their places in the semi-finals of the 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship after recording their second successive wins in Group B at the StubHub Center, Los Angeles.

Having claimed a narrow 1-0 win over Haiti in their opening tie Honduras knew victory over Costa Rica would all but secure a place in the knockout stages, and their forward Antony Lozano nearly made the breakthrough after 30 minutes with his powerful effort hitting the post.

Lozano, who scored the winning goal against Haiti, would only have to wait another 10 minutes to find the back of the Costa Rican net but his strike had a large element of fortune.

The forward superbly controlled a lofted pass from Bryan Acosta, giving him time to fire towards goal, however his shot was weak and looked unlikely to trouble the Costa Rican goalkeeper Darryl Cortes until it took a deflection off defender Jhamir Ordain which diverted the ball home.

A second half of few chances became more open in the closing stages as Costa Rica desperately chased an equaliser, but their task was made harder after their captain Luis Sequeira received two yellow cards in less than one minute which saw his team reduced to 10-men.

With the game stretched and Costa Rica playing with a man less, Honduras took full advantage as a neat one-two by Alberth Elis and Oscar Salas carved open the opposition's defence, allowing the former to finish the simplest of opportunities to double the lead inside the final 10 minutes.

Having secured a 2-0 victory, Honduras' progression to the semi-finals would be confirmed should the reigning Olympic champions Mexico overcome Haiti.

Raul Lopez's penalty proved the difference between Mexico and Haiti ©Getty Images

The Mexicans were denied by several outstanding saves from Luis Valendi Odelus as he kept out a goal-bound header from Marco Bueno at the start of the first half, before making a similar save from Hedgardo Marin in the opening stages of the second.

However, the goalkeeper would be let down by his defender Severe Verilus, whose clumsy tackle on Erick Gutierrez gifted Mexico the opportunity to take the lead in the 75th minute from the penalty spot.

Raul Lopez finally ended Odelus’ resistance by rolling the ball into the corner.

Haiti were unable to find a response in the closing minutes, with Mexico’s 1-0 win ensuring both they and Honduras have sealed semi-final places.

The two teams will meet in the final group match on October 8 to decide which side will finish top.