California Dreaming for Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz
Pressure off head coach Heimir Hallgrimsoon after Gold Cup quarter-final berth is booked with stylish victory
Jamaica bounced into the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals by soaring to a comfortable 5-0 success over minnows St. Kitts & Nevis last night (3 July).
A two-goal interval lead saw head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson change personnel, with the Reggae Boyz surging in the second-half to light up the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Having held the USA second-string to a 1-1 stalemate in the competition’s marquee opener, and followed it up with an emphatic 4-1 triumph over Trinidad & Tobago, the Jamaica squad was brimming with confidence before tackling the Sugar Boyz.
An own goal on the half-hour from shotstopper Julani Archibald broke the deadlock, with Jon Russell doubling the lead during first-half additional time.
Hallgrimsson rested some of his big guns for the second half, as the Reggae Boyz fired on all cylinders and added to their tally with strikes from Di’Shon Bernard plus substitutes Daniel Johnson and Cory Burke.
St. Kitts & Nevis, having superbly navigated through the preliminary rounds to surprisingly dismiss Curacao and then French Guiana, had failed in their first taste of the main draw. They kicked off with a battling 3-0 reversal to Trinidad & Tobago, then were destroyed 6-0 by the United States.
With the FIFA-ranked no.136 Sugar Boyz playing for pride, and Hallgrimsson seeking only his second victory since taking the helm at the start of the year, it was never going to be a fair contest with Jamaica superior in every department.
Yet St. Kitts & Nevis came out of the blocks eager to bag their first goal in the main draw, with Yohannes Mitchum’s 13th-minute shot from outside the box blocked and Jamaica looking nervous with their 4-2-3-1 formation led by skipper Adrian Mariappa.
New Reggae Boy Demarai Gray, who has been such a livewire in the golden shirt, came close to scoring but Archibald was equal to his 18th-minute attempt. Michail Antonio should have done better five minutes later, but his long-range shot went high and wide of the target.
With the Sugar Boyz looking solid in defence, it took a bizarre goal for Jamaica to take the lead. Whizzy winger Leon Bailey raced into the box and unselfishly crossed the ball across the face of the goalmouth to find Kareem Parris. The Dynamo Kyiv striker sent his shot into the melee, which unfortunately bounced off keeper Archibald and crossed the line.
Despite Jamaica’s relentless attacks and deep crosses, the Sugar Boyz kept the world no.63-ranked side at bay and brilliantly sprung the offside trap. That was until a neat move set up by Bailey’s cheeky backheel was polished off by Russell, who unmarked picked his spot to find the bottom left corner to grab his first international goal.
With Jamaica cruising to victory, Hallgrimsson sent on Johnson and striker Shamar Nicholson to start the second half in place of Russell and Antonio respectively.
Nicholson immediately proved his worth by setting up Bernard, who turned on a sixpence within the crowded area to slot home on 49 minutes and ensure that it was game over for the Sugar Boyz.
And Nicholson almost grabbed a goal, following a slick move, but Malique Roberts’ sliding block on 56 minutes saw the ball whizz over the target to trouble Jamaica for the first time after the turnaround.
Romaine Sawyers fluffed a couple of goalscoring opportunities, one in each half, for St. Kitts & Nevis who were not initially overawed. On the hour-mark head coach Austin Huggins shook things up with an attack-minded double substitution, in an attempt to claw something back.
Dexter Lemibikisa and Amari’i Bell came close to adding a fourth goal with the Sugar Boyz suddenly pressing forward and gaps appearing in their midfield. And Huggins sent Jamal Jeffers between the sticks to give Archibald a well-deserved rest.
Jeffers’ first touch of the ball was saving Burke’s tame shot, but the keeper spilled the ball into the path of Johnson who made no mistake on 72 minutes.
Burke completed the rout two minutes later that jolted the Sugar Boyz into action. Jacob Hazel and Yohannes Mitchum narrowly missed notching a goal, while Nicholson scuppered a pair of late chances to hit St. Kitts & Nevis for six.
Jamaica advance to the knockout stage, as runner-up to the US who annihilated Trinidad & Tobago 6-0 last night, and will tackle the Group D winner inside the TQL Stadium, Cincinnati on Sunday.
Guadeloupe are the surprise Group D leaders ahead of tomorrow’s final matches and unless they lose to Guatemala, while Canada will lock horns with Cuba, they will face Jamaica.
The French-speaking Caribbean island, former Gold Cup semi-finalists, went through the preliminary stages and kicked off their group with a creditable 2-2 draw against Canada. Guadeloupe followed it up with an emphatic 4-1 triumph over rejuvenated Cuba and haven’t taken their foot off the gas during the tournament.
JAMAICA | Waite (Boyce-Clarke, 82) – Bell, Mariappa, Bernard, Lembikisa – Russell (Johnson, 45), Latibeaudiere – Gray (Richards, 82), Bailey, Parris (Burke, 60) – Antonio (Nicholson, 45). Subs: Blake, Lambert, Decordova-Reid, Lawrence, Brown
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