Red card, late charge doom Young Boyz
Published:Wednesday | February 15, 2023 | 1:33 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
NATIONAL UNDER-17 head coach Merron Gordon’s warning of the group going down to the wire came to fruition as two late goals, as well as a red card, doomed the young Reggae Boyz to a 2-1 defeat to Guadeloupe in their second group game of the Concacaf Under 17 Championship at the Estadio Mateo Flores Stadium yesterday.
Ronaldo Barrett opened the scoring for Jamaica in the 41st minute with a long-range effort before late strikes from Guadeloupe captain Willian Jacques in the 77th and Ylan Moloza in the 89th marked a come-from-behind victory, which leaves Jamaica needing a result in their final group game to secure qualification to the second round.
Jamaica’s inability to hold on to their slim advantage was not helped by the fact that they played the majority of the second half with 10 players after Nashorn Bolt was sent off for a second yellow card in the 52nd minute.
The Jamaica got on to the front foot early in the match with Malachia Molina causing problems for Guadeloupe on the right-hand side and Jahmani Bell coming close on a couple of occasions, but seeing his shots blocked.
Guadeloupe rode their luck for the majority of that first half, blocking any offensive thrust that Jamaica had until the 41st minute.
Barrett, given too much space, unleashed a long-range blast which rewarded the Jamaicans for their early pressure and put them on the verge of doing more damage.
However, in the second half, the referee adjudged Bolt to have taken a swipe at a Guadeloupe player while shielding the ball in his own half, resulting in a second booking despite appeals from the players.
SETBACK
Despite the setback, Jamaica still managed to carve out half chances while holding on to their slim advantage. But Guadeloupe had grown into the game and were making their numerical advantage count.
On one of the occasions when they had created that pressure, Jacques broke through the defence on the left and and fired his effort past goalkeeper Taywayne Lynch to restore parity.
Gordon then made changes to shore up the defensive side of the game but Jamaica’s efforts to hold on for a point were dashed in the final minute of regulation, as Moloza shook off the challenge of Nicholas Simmonds, who was tracking back, only to find himself unchallenged in the box. Moloza gleefully struck the ball to the bottom corner, completing the comeback and sending the Jamaicans into despair.
While Jamaica were denied a chance to book their qualification early, destiny still remains in their hands, as they need to beat Costa Rica tomorrow night to secure one of three places in the round of 16.