Steve McClaren’s Jamaica Bounce Back From Shock Defeat to Keep Gold Cup Hopes Alive
California dreams for out-of-sorts Reggae Boyz
Leon Bailey and Andre Blake were the savours as wobbling Jamaica last night chalked up a vital CONCACAF Gold Cup victory over relative minnows Guadeloupe.
Whizzy winger Bailey cancelled out Thierry Ambrose’s goal, with Jon Russell scoring what proved to be the winner in an action-packed first-half inside PayPal Park, San Jose.
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz had been stunned 1-0 by Guatemala in their opening group game, and required maximum points against unfancied Guadeloupe to have a shot at progressing to the knockout stages.
The scene was set for a fierce contest in California, with both teams desperate to secure maximum points in a bid to reach the quarter-finals.
Bailey came close to breaking the deadlock in the second minute, only for shotstopper Brice Cognard to prevent the ball from nestling into the top left corner.
The Aston Villa ace was twice denied by the woodwork, hitting the post on 20 minutes followed by his effort ricocheting off the crossbar after his cheeky chip with the keeper off his line.
Guadeloupe’s first opportunity to score arrived on the quarter-of-an-hour mark, but Ambrose’s ambitious long-range effort was sent high and wide of the target.
Following poor finishing from Noah Cadiou and Matthias Phaeton, Belgium-based Ambrose showed his shooting skills.
The former France youth international Ambrose made no mistake to direct Cadiou’s corner into the back of the net for a 32nd-minute lead.
It became a combative midfield contest until Bailey snatched the equaliser on 41 minutes with a low drive, wonderfully latching onto Warner Brown’s pass.
Yet this strike propelled their French Caribbean opponents into much-needed life rather than the Boyz.
On the stroke of half-time Jordan Leborgne’s shot was blocked and it took a brilliant save from Blake to deny livewire Ambrose from adding a second goal.
Against the run of the play Jamaica scored. Russell headed Demarai Gray’s telling cross into the bottom left corner deep into first-half stoppage time.
With the Boyz looking as disjointed as they were against Guatemala, it was no surprise that head coach Steve McClaren made a couple of half-time switches.
The side was bolstered by the arrival of striker Renaldo Cephas for Gray and Karoy Anderson replaced Dwayne Atkinson in midfield.
The first goalmouth action after the turnaround arrived on 55 minutes, when Blake was equal to Nathanael Saintini’s long-range shot.
It turned into a bruising battle, with the tie constantly stopped because of a clutch of injuries to both teams.
Guadeloupe were on top of things and dominant. During stoppage time they forced a pair of fabulous saves from Blake, Ange-Freddy Plumain and Florian David came perilously close to snatching an equaliser.
Second-half substitute Plumain finally found the back of the net on 93 minutes, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.
The closest that Jamaica came to adding to their tally was eight minutes into added time.
Kaheim Dixon’s header set up Cephas, who went for glory rather than pick out unmarked Michail Antonio, and tamely sent the ball into the hands of Cognard.
Jamaica will tackle table-topping Panama on Tuesday, likely to require a win as Guatemala sit level with the Boyz and face Guadeloupe in Houston, Texas. The top two teams from Group C will progress to the quarter-finals.
Unbeaten sides Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States have already booked their last eight berths with a game to spare.
A triumph inside the Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas will earn Jamaica a showdown with Group B winners, which could be against Canada, Curacao, El Salvador or Honduras.
JAMAICA: Blake – Bell, Pinnock, King, Lembikisa – Latibeaudiere – Gray (Cephas, 45), Atkinson (Anderson, 45), Russell, Bailey (Dixon, 85) – Brown (Antonio, 81). Subs: Burrell, Davis, McCalla, Ming, Williams, Leigh, Waite, Campbell.
CONCACAF GROUP C STANDINGS
Panama 6pts (+4 goal difference)
Jamaica 3pts (+0)
Guatemala 3pts (+0)
Guadeloupe 0pts (-4)
CONCACAF QUARTER-FINALISTS
Group A: Costa Rica & Mexico
Group B:Canada, Curacao, El Salvador or Honduras
Group C: Panama & either Guatemala or Jamaica
Group D: USA & either Haiti, Saudi Arabia or Trinidad & Tobago
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