Gritty show
Young Reggae Girlz beat Dom Rep to advance to knockout round
Published:Wednesday | April 27, 2022 | 12:07 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
THEY FOUND the going tough, but the young Reggae Girlz battled and endured to put themselves into the next round of the Under-17 Concacaf Women’s Championship.
Jamaica defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1 in their second group F game yesterday at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo. Maria Torreira gave the home side the lead in the third minute but goals from Tiny Seaton in the 30th, captain Dannique Wilson in the 70th and substitute Natoya Atkinson in 90+1 ensured a come-from-behind victory which secured their place in the last 16.
The Dominican Republic, the host nation, were looking to bounce back from their heavy 10-0 defeat by Canada in their group opener on Sunday and used their home field advantage from the opening whistle.
Jamaica named an unchanged 11 from the team that defeated Bermuda 7-0 on Sunday but were put under early pressure from the Dominicans, who looked to force the initiative early. They got an early reward for their efforts with Torreira latching on to a cross, her effort sailing past goalkeeper Lyla Brooks.
The young Girlz responded, creating chances of their own, however failed to test Dominican goalkeeper and captain Paloma Peña. Maya Raghunandanan, whose brace powered Jamaica to their opening 7-0 win over Bermuda, had her chances but those went straight at Peña.
The game went end to end with the Dominicans using the home crowd and Jamaica countering dangerously.
LOW SHOT
Jamaica’s persistence paid off at the half-hour mark as a through pass found Seaton, whose low shot found the bottom corner to restore parity.
While the Dominican Republic had the lion’s share of chances in the first half, it was still the Jamaicans who looked more dangerous.
In the second half, the roles reversed and it was Jamaica who had the numerical advantage in terms of chances, while looking vulnerable at the back.
But Jamaica would take the lead with 20 minutes to go as Wilson got on the end of Andrene Smith’s free kick and bundled the ball past Peña.
While they had the advantage, Jamaica still had to stave off a late push from the Dominicans as the defence was called into action to prevent a late equaliser.
The points were made safe in the first minute of stoppage time as Atkinson muscled her way past the defence to get on the end of Shaneil Buckley’s lob. She would fire a one-time shot that rolled into the net to seal the win and her team’s continued stay in the tournament.
Jamaica are currently on six points as well as Canada who lead the group with a superior goal difference having beaten Bermuda 5-0 in the early game.
Jamaica face Canada in their final group game tomorrow to decide the winner of Group F.