Martinique enjoyed a 2-1 victory over El Salvador in their opening CONCACAF match in Fort Lauderdale, despite having a player sent-off ©Getty Images

Martinique survived almost the entire second half with a man down to defeat El Salvador 2-1 in their opening match of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Gold Cup in Fort Lauderdale.

Goals from Patrick Burner and Kevin Fortune in the space of five first-half minutes put Martinique in control in the Group C match before being forced to dig deep after Jonathon Rivierez’s red card shortly after the break at the DRV PNK Stadium in the city in Florida.

El Salvador got one back courtesy of Bryan Tamacas’ strike in added time but it was too light too late as Martinique held for the win.

Martinique had not secured a victory at the CONCACAF Gold Cup since 2019 but they came flying out of the blocks in a bid to end that barren run.

It took them just 11 minutes to open the scoring as Burner latched onto a diagonal pass by Florent Poulolo before producing a clinical finish.

Goalkeeper Yannis Clementia punches the ball away as Martinique hold on for all three points ©Getty Images
Goalkeeper Yannis Clementia punches the ball away as Martinique hold on for all three points ©Getty Images

Martinique doubled their advantage on 16 minutes when Brighton Labeau intercepted a pass from Alex Roldan before setting up Fortune who found the net.

When Rivierez received a straight red card on 48 minutes, the momentum shifted as El Salvador looked to find a way back into the match.

Jairo Henriquez, Brayan Gil and Mayer Gil all missed opportunities as the pressure increased on Martinique.

El Salvador were awarded a penalty on 83 minutes, but Henriquez failed to convert as goalkeeper Yannis Clementia came to Martinique’s rescue.

Clementia was faced with another penalty in stoppage time and was unable to stop this one as Tamacas netted for a late consolation.

Panama's players celebrate one of their two goals in their victory over Costa Rica ©Getty Images
Panama's players celebrate one of their two goals in their victory over Costa Rica ©Getty Images

The other Group C match saw Panama secure a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica at the DRV PNK Stadium.

Like Martinique, Panama got off to a flying start with Jose Fajardo heading home a cross from Eric Davis.

Moments later, Panama had another great chance only for Costa Rica goalkeeper Kevin Chamorro to deny Fajardo.

At the other end, Panama stopper Orlando Mosquera made a smart save to thwart Josimar Alcocer.

It was an end-to-end match with opportunities for both sides before Panama converted on 68 minutes when Edgar Barcenas headed in his side’s second.

Costa Rica refused to give up and got one back when Aaron Saurez finished after good link-up play with Joel Campbell but Panama saw out time to collect all three points.

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with Group D matches between Canada and Guadeloupe at BMO Field in Toronto and Guatemala and Cuba in Fort Lauderdale.