Dawkins Provides Great Escape to Keep Jamaica’s World Cup Dream Alive
Super sub saviour bags last-gasp goal to send Reggae Boyz into lucrative group stages
Simon Dawkins’ 89th-minute sensational left-footed volley against Nicaragua saved Jamaica from making an early World Cup Qualifying exit last night. And the attacking midfielder, dropped from the starting line-up, saved the despairing Reggae Boyz from missing out on the lucrative group stages of the world’s most lucrative tournament.
With head coach Winfried Schäfer staring at defeat with the final whistle fast approaching, Derby County star Dawkins popped up with a thumping volley to snatch victory from the jaws of an aggregate defeat. Nicaragua ditched their flowing attacking play, which had brought them a deserved 3-2 success in Friday’s first leg on Friday, favouring defensive tactics on their fast artificial surface in the capital city of Managua.
And they were soon punished for failing to press forward when livewire Darren Mattocks popped up to notch his 12th international goal and send the Boyz into the lead on 13 minutes.With Jamaica needing to triumph by at least two goals to progress in the competition, this strike was a lifeline. But they were constantly frustrated inside the National Stadium by the hosts resorting to time-wasting tactics and holding up the ball.
Both sides went around the tie with clueless attacking, but it was the Boyz who needed to score and the fear factor of failure for Jamaica was clear.Their disjointed display without influential captain Rodolph Austin, in Mexico to collect a visa for Denmark to resurrect his club career, lacked his drive and leadership. Crystal Palace defender Adrian Mariappa – who snatched a vital goal in the first leg – marshalled Boyz as stand-in skipper.
Although the Boyz weathered the storm after taking the lead, with Nicaragua suddenly chasing an equaliser but without their normal explosive and eye-catching play.
At the other end the Boyz were desperately missing the trickiness of Giles Barnes, who had returned to Houston Dynamo as the MLS club only permitted the striker to compete in one leg against the central American minnows.
Deshorn Brown and attacking midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson rarely troubled the home defence, leaving only Vancouver Whitecaps’ Mattocks to provide a scintillating show upfront.
Yet Jamaica were far from dazzling as stubborn Nicaragua’s fighting spirit and ability to dominate possession made it tricky for the Boyz to create goalscoring opportunities.
Schäfer brought on striker Andre Clennon for the ineffective Brown midway through the second half as the coach got more red-faced and vocal knowing that his team desperately needed to rack up another goal.
Although the Boyz were more commanding after the turnaround and winning a string of corners, they rarely threatened to score. And so Schäfer’s last throw of the dice was to send on Dawkins.
Just as it appeared that the veteran German, whose position as head coach could have ended had the Boyz failed to progress past Nicaragua, had pressed the panic button up popped Dawkins.
Demar Phillips’ corner from the left was sent into the crowded penalty area, kindly dropping into the path of Dawkins. The former Tottenham ace made no mistake to volley the ball past keeper Justo Llorente and save with less than 60 seconds remaining.
As well as the tantalising close victory and despite a toothless display overall, Schäfer can be delighted that his defence excelled once more like they had during their Copa America and Gold Cup campaigns.
However, the Boyz should have blasted their way past Nicaragua – a side world ranked no139 compared to Jamaica at no52 – and not been in the desperate position they experienced.
The Boyz cannot afford to be disjointed when they join the four-team Group in the 4th Round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers that comprises Costa Rica, Panama, and Haiti.
And Jamaica will test their international progress with a hastily organised friendly international against South Korea in Seoul on 13 October.
JAMAICA: Blake; Hector, Phillips (Laing 56), Powell, Lawrence; Mariappa, Humphrey (Dawkins 83), Williamson; Watson, Mattocks, Brown (Clennon 66) Subs: Kerr, Miller, Campbell, Campbell, Gray, Grant, Parkes, Seaton
Qualifying 3rd Round (second legs played)
El Salvador 1 Curacao 0 (El Salvador win 2-0 on aggregate), Belize 1 Canada 1 (Canada win 4-1), Haiti 3 Grenada 0 (Haiti win 6-1), Nicaragua 0 Jamaica 2 (Jamaica win 4-3), Aruba 2 St. Vincent & Grenadines 1 (St. Vincent & Grenadines win 3-2), Guatemala 2 Antigua & Barbuda 0 (Guatemala win 2-1)
Qualifying 4th Round (Round-Robin)
Group A: Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, Canada
Group B: Panama, Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica
Group C: Trinidad & Tobago, USA, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Guatemala
Final Qualifying Round (Round-Robin)
Top two teams from each group will play in a six-team mini-league, with the top three automatically qualifying and the fourth-placed team moving into an inter-Continental play-off.
Well written article. dp
Good day. This is my first time reading your article. It is well written and is a welcome addition to the sport loving public. Keep on writing. Thank you. dp.