Reggae Girlz held to goalless draw with Costa Rica in international friendly
Published:Sunday | October 24, 2021 | 9:21 PM
Jamaica's Reggae Girlz dominated ten-player Costa Rica in their international friendly at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida but had to settle for a 0-0 draw on Sunday.
Costa Rica went down a player as early as six minutes into the game when midfielder Katherine Alvarado was shown the red card for dangerous foul play.
The Reggae Girlz controlled the game thereafter and created numerous openings, which they failed to capitalise on.
In the first half, the Girlz had great opportunities through Khadija Shaw, Satara Murray, debutants Paige Bailey-Gayle (twice), and Jade Bailey.
Costa Rica's best effort of the half came from Shirley Cruz, who fired over from a freekick.
Jamaica then had good efforts from Drew Spence and Cheyna Matthews, late in the half as the Central Americans desperately held on.
Jamaica continued where they left off after the interval and Matthews, Atlanta Primus, Shaw and Spence all threatened to break the deadlock, with Shaw coming closest with a header in the 71st minute.
The Costa Ricans did get a couple openings near the end, but Gabriela Guillén headed over and Lixy Rodríguez had a shot that just missed the post.
The Reggae Girlz are preparing for their Concacaf first round FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers, scheduled to begin in February. They will play in Group C with Bermuda, Grenada, Dominica Republic, and Cayman Islands.