Reggae Boyz Suffer Surprise Defeat in Gold Cup Opener
Antonio returned as last-gasp substitute for Jamaica’s first defeat to Guatemala for 13 years
Jamaica’s CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign kicked off with a shock 1-0 reversal at the hands of Guatemala last night.
The Reggae Boyz, who had thumped Guatemala 3-0 in Kingston less than a week before, played second fiddle in their Group C tie at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Oscar Santis poked home what proved to be the decisive strike just after the half-hour mark, to register their maiden Gold Cup success over Jamaica in six attempts.
Arriving at the showpiece tournament, it was always going to be tricky to call which version of the Boyz would turn up for matches. In their back-to-back World Cup qualifiers they edged past minnows British Virgin Islands 1-0, but three days later totally destroyed Guatemala.
There was no repeat performance of that dominant display from Jamaica. They were lame against Guatemala, a team who sit outside the top 100 FIFA-rankings.
Michail Antonio, back in the Jamaica squad for the first time since his car accident last December, was one of only a sprinkling of the big names selected by head coach Steve McClaren.
Santis proved to be a handful from the first whistle. Within the first 150 seconds he had a shot blocked in the box and his ambitious effort required keeper Andre Blake to pull off a save.
Georgian-based striker Santis volleyed home Darwin Lom’s in the 17th-minute, but it was ruled offside, which kept the Jamaica defence on their toes.
Although there was plenty of goalmouth action, although wayward finishing and swift defending, it took until 32 minutes before the deadlock was broken.
Following a wasted close-range opportunity by Leon Bailey, a rapid counterattack was brilliantly polished off with aplomb by the lively Santis.
The ball was purposely pumped up and latched onto by Lom. He cleverly outwitted the defence with a cheeky backheel pass, which Dinamo Tbilisi ace Santis tapped into the bottom left corner.
Demarai Gray sprang into life after this goal, creating chances for Warner Brown and Damion Lowe to try and snatch an equaliser.
Saudi Pro League star Gray launched a shot from outside the box, on the stroke of half-time, which whizzed past shotstopper Nicholas Hagen and to the right of the target.
With the Boyz looking disjointed in every position, interval changes seemed inevitable. Yet McClaren only swapped Richard King with Dexter Lembikisa in defence.
Hagen had an extremely quiet evening between the sticks as Jamaica simply lacked conviction. He pulled off his first save on 53 minutes to prevent Bailey’s attempt from finding the bottom right corner. On the hour-mark he was equal to Jon Russell’s header.
A double substitute midway through the second half saw Gray surprisingly replaced by Kasey Palmer, and the ineffective Brown hauled off for Rumarn Burrell to sharpen the Jamaica attack.
Yet it was at the end of the pitch for all the goalmouth excitement. Blake saved the blushes with a spectacular diving to deny Rubio Mendez’s header and then stopped Pedro Altan’s low drive from finding the back of the net.
McClaren gave a five-minute run out to veteran Antonio and Kaheim Dixon with his desperate last throw of the dice. This double switch almost paid dividends, but Bailey was unable to convert Antonio’s pinpoint cross.
During stoppage time both teams were guilty of squandering chances. Jamaica’s best chance fell to Ethan Pinnock, who skied his header over the gaping goalmouth.
The Boyz, beaten in the semi-finals by Mexico at the last Gold Cup two years ago, tasted their first defeat to Guatemala since their 2-1 CONCACAF World Cup qualifier slip-up in 2012.
Jamaica’s goal is to navigate their way out of the four-team group, with two wins potentially required as Guatemala are expected to breeze past Guadeloupe.
The Boyz will surely fancy their chances of picking up maximum points against Guadeloupe in San Jose, California on Friday. The relative minnows were thrashed 5-2 in their Group C opener by Panama.
When McClaren’s troops tackle Panama, the 2023 Gold Cup runner-up, at Austin, Texas on Tuesday they will need to be firing on all cylinders like they can do.
The uncertainty of what sort of performance the Boyz can produce, from sensational to insipid, is a concern because a decent Gold Cup run will boost confidence ahead of this year’s World Cup qualifiers.
Another disorderly display will prove costly, with McClaren urgently needing to tweak his tactical approach to get the Boyz back on track.
JAMAICA: Blake – Bell, Pinnock, King (Lembikisa, 45), Latibeaudiere – Gray (Palmer, 66), Lowe (Dixon, 85), Russell (Antonio, 85) – Cephas, Brown (Burrell, 67), Bailey. Subs: Atkinson, Davis, Ming, Waite, Campbell.
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