Digicel Caribbean Football Cup
Canada vs Jamaica - WC2010 Qualifier Aug 20, 2008
Andy Williams Score
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Onward march |
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BY
PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com |
FLORENCE HALL, Trelawny - Jamaica's Reggae Boyz shook off the disappointment of dropping out of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying by advancing to the Caribbean Football Union's (CFU) Digicel Caribbean Championship semi-finals after playing to a 1-1 draw with arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium as Group A games came to a close.
Eric Vernan scored in the 46th minute for the second straight game to give Jamaica a second-half lead, but Errol McFarlane's 80th-minute equaliser gave the former champions some hope.
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Jamaica's Eric Vernan (right) scores against Trinidad and Tobago's goalkeeper John Michael Williams in their Digicel encounter at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium yesterday. They drew 1-1. (Photo: Paul Reid) |
Jamaica also qualified
for the CONCACAF Gold Cup
after failing to advance to the last staging.
Jamaica finished as winners of Group A with seven points, from two wins and a draw, while Grenada created football history for their country and qualified for the CONCACAF tournament after beating Barbados 4-2 in the first game of the double header after finishing runners-up to Jamaica. Kithson Bain scored the tournament's first hat-trick for Grenada.
It was a sub-par performance by the Boyz, however, as with the exception of Vernan's goal and an occasional raid on the Trinidad goal, there was very little for the fair-sized turn out to cheer for.
To add injury to insult, influential winger Demar Phillips hobbled off in the first half after going down twice with a left hamstring cramp and was replaced by Rafe Wolfe. The first half was especially drab and lifeless as Jamaica, who made one change to the team that beat Grenada at Jarrett Park on Friday, had a total of two shots on target.
Central defender Shavar Thomas made way for Demar Stewart and was not included in the squad, but coach John Barnes said the change was purely tactical.
Barnes was not happy with the performance of the team telling reporters afterwards that "I am happy we are in the semi-finals, I am happy with the results, but it is the worst we have played (in the tournament).
Barnes said: Against Barbados we were 10 times better - we played with more intensity and more desire."
He said the hot weather in Trelawny might have affected the lethargic effort as "it was a hot day, so I understand that and we lost our shape, but I am happy we are in the semi-finals that is the only thing I am happy about".
Barnes went on to say the team "cannot chose when to perform and when not to perform and today (yesterday) it was a bad performance".
He predicted that if the team did not lift their play they would struggle against either Cuba or Guadeloupe in the semi-finals.
After the listless first half, Vernan started the second half on a bright note when he was picked out by Andrew Williams on the right wing and raced past a defender before looping the ball over the head of goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams and off the inside of the goal post.
Williams came up big in the 68th when he blocked a thunderous free-kick from Rudolph Austin form the edge of the 18 yards box for a corner.
Vernan had a chance to double the score in the 77th minute when he was sent through down the middle of the Trinidad area, and with just the goalkeeper to beat, he lost control of the ball.
Trinidad pulled level with 10 minutes to go when McFarlane powered home form inside the six-yard area after Jamaica's goalkeeper Donovan Rickets had blocked a shot, but failed to hold on to the ball.
It was a tense finish as the Soca Warriors pressed forward in search of the winner, but were denied by the Jamaican defence.
Earlier Grenada and Barbados slugged out a six-goal game as Bain scored a hat-trick to take his tally to four in the competition.
Bain scored in the 12th, 26th and 67th minutes, while Marcus Julien got the other for Grenada while Riviere Williams scored both goals for Barbados in the 71st and 78th minutes.
Grenada's player/coach Anthony Modeste was happy for his team after the game which was played in hot conditions. "We got the victory, but unfortunately we allowed two goals."
It was Barbados who was off to the better start, hitting the post twice in the first nine minutes, but were down 0-3 after 26 minutes and the game was effectively over as a contest.
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Boyz rally for 2-1 win in DigiCup opener |
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BY
SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sports editor |
Jamaica's Reggae Boyz shook off early blushes and had to come from behind to defeat Barbados 2-1 in an agonising show to open their account in the Digicel Caribbean Championships at the National Stadium last night.
Rudolph Austin (76th
minute) and Luton Shelton (82nd) from the penalty spot rescued Jamaican
pride and eased nerves as the Boyz fought back after going down in the
46th minute to a Riviere Williams goal after dominating ball possession.
The three points put the Jamaicans at the top of Group A with Grenada,
who defeated Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors by the same margin.
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Reggae Boy Omar Cummings (left) tries to get past Barbados' Jonathan Straker during their Digicel Caribbean Championship Group A game at the National Stadium last night. Jamaica won 2-1. (Photo: Lionel Rookwood) |
The first spark of the game for the Boyz came in the third minute of play when Luton Shelton and Rafe Wolfe worked a cheeky give-and-go inside the opposing 18-yard box, but the latter's cross inside couldn't find a friendly boot.
But the Barbadians - having soaked up some early Jamaican advances in their territory - gave a hint of their offensive mettle two minutes later when they forged forward, but the effort came to nought as Norman Forde's rasping grounder from 20 yards glided wide of Donovan Ricketts' upright.
For the first 20 minutes of play, Jamaica were on top of the game with slick passing out of midfield and offensive venturing, but they clearly lacked teeth in delivering the final blow.
In the 22nd minute, the Boyz appealed for a penalty, when a blitzy raid ended with the fleet-footed Eric Vernan tumbling over in the Bajan box after a promising run.
There was obviously contact, but referee Joel Aguillar was not convinced there was a foul and waved play on.
In much the same fashion they started the contest by dominating ball possession, the Jamaican finished the first half, but left the park cursing their luck as they went behind in the 46th when a diminutive Reviere Williams out-jumped a towering Jamaican defence to head home a left-sided corner.
Staring an embarrassing defeat in the face, the Boyz continued what could best be described as a frantic search for the equaliser, but their efforts in the final third were lacking in purpose.
But in a rare threatening move to this point, Dane Richards found himself in a good position and had a firmly-struck shot saved at close range by the visiting goalkeeper, Alvin Rouse.
The equalising goal was spawned in the 76th minute from a clever lofted ball into the area by Eric Vernan for Rudolph Austin to run onto for an easy volley past the goalkeeper.
But things began to get better for the Boyz when their spell of sustained pressure yielded a break through when Barbadian Bryan Neblett handled the ball in the area. Luton Shelton made no mistake with the 12-yard kick in the in 82nd minute to give the Boyz the lead.
Jamaica will next play tomorrow when they tackle Grenada at Jarrett Park at 7:00 pm, while Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors face Barbados at the same venue at 5:00.
This site was last updated Thursday, March 18, 2010 11:17:17 PM