Gifted Goal Sends Jamaica Closer to World Cup finals
A lone strike from Bailey-Tye Cadamarteri sets up Tuesday’s do-or-die clash with DR Congo
Bailey-Tye Cadamarteri bagged just his second goal for Jamaica, yet it proved decisive as the Reggae Boyz beat New Caledonia 1-0 in Mexico last night.
Jamaica, given a second shot at qualifying for football’s showpiece competition, edged into the FIFA Inter-Continental Play-Offs Tournament final against DR Congo at the expense of the South Pacific islanders.
It proved to be a tricky task for overwhelming favourites Jamaica, but they managed to get over the line and were grateful for a pair of fabulous saves from skipper Andre Blake.
Just over 40,000 spectators filled the Estadio Akron in Zapopan and were treated to a cat-and-mouse contest, which was probably because the stakes were so high.
Head coach Rudolph Speid had shaken things up with a dramatically changed squad from those favoured by his predecessor Steve McClaren to face world no.150 New Caledonia.
Although former Cavalier SC boss Speid initially picked 27 players, he ended up naming just 22 to tackle their Oceanic opponents. He opted for a conservative 4-2-3-1 starting line-up, which notably omitted right winger Leon Bailey.
New Caledonia manager Johann Sidaner, who masterminded October’s 2-0 success over Gibraltar in their previous outing, switched to a 5-4-1 formation from his usual 4-4-2 setup.
Attacking midfielder Angelo Fulgini, a former France U21 international, was handed his New Caledonia debut. He almost broke the deadlock, only to misdirect his header over the crossbar.
The only goal of the game arrived on 18 minutes. Ronaldo Webster’s free-kick beat the wall and was parried by shotstopper Rocky Nyikeine straight into the path of Cadamarteri to polish off.
Cadamarteri, who joined Premier League-chasing Wrexham in January, had previously only scored for Jamaica against Trinidad & Tobago in March.
The South Pacific side had only themselves to blame for wasting opportunities to snatch an equaliser, especially by firing off ambitious long-range drives that were never going to beat Blake.
They were given a glimmer of hope following a mix-up in the box. Richard King was outfoxed by veteran striker Georges Gope-Fenepej, who unsuccessfully tried to chip Blake.
New Caledonia came even closer to levelling matters during the closing stages of the first half, only for Blake to make his inaugural save by denying livewire Jean-Jacques Katrawa.
The Boyz introduced Bobby De Cordoa-Reid as a half-time replacement for Andre Brooks in a vain attempt to add some sizzle.
The tense tie took twists and turns, with Jamaica dominating the start of the second half but being totally outplayed for the final 20 minutes.
Karoy Andrerson was guilty of failing to put the match out of reach of plucky New Caledonia, but he screwed his shot wide of the right post.
What would have been a spectacular strike brought the stadium to life on 65 minutes. Jamaica’s swift counterattack saw Webster cleverly overlap and continue to race down the pitch, only to hurriedly scuff his attempted chip over Nyikeine.
This ended up as Jamaica’s last real scoring opportunity, with Speid sending on substitutes to try and break up New Caledonia’s momentum.
Yet even the introduction of Bailey, Damion Lowe and Jamal Lowe could not prevent New Caledonia from bossing the final 20 minutes.
Sidaner sent on a trio of hungry attackers — Germain Haewegene, Gerard Weia and Shene Welepane — in a late bid to grab a deserved equaliser and force extra time.
Although the Boyz battled hard in defence, they came close to conceding to Waia on 88 minutes but had Blake to thank for sparing their blushes.
A vastly improved display will be required by Jamaica to overcome DR Congo, who qualified for the World Cup Play-Off Tournament by defeating Nigeria in their African Play-Off.
The prize is high for Tuesday’s showdown against DR Congo, with the winner progressing to the 2026 World Cup finals to join Colombia, Portugal and Uzbekistan for their group games.
JAMAICA: Blake – Webster, Pinnock, King (Bell, 84), Latibeaudiere – Anderson, Hayden – Mason-Clark (D.Lowe, 84), Brooks (De Cordova-Reid, 46), T.Campbell (Bailey, 68) – Cadamarteri (J.Lowe, 79). Subs: Palmer, N.Campbell, Knight, Cephas, Hall, Waite.
FRIENDLIES INVOLVING CONCACAF TEAMS
Aruba 4 Macau 1
Bahamas 1 Anguilla 3
China 2 Curacao 0
Puerto Rico 4 Guam 0
Venezuela 0 Trinidad & Tobago 0
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