Reggae Boyz Hit Gold With Late, Late Show Over Vincy Heat
Two goals in the dying moments help steer Jamaica into Gold Cup finals
Steve McClaren will oversee his first major tournament as Jamaica head coach, after his Reggae Boyz beat St. Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) 3-0 last night.
The former England manager will guide Jamaica to the highly-lucrative CONCACAF Gold Cup finals, after he registered a 4-1 aggregate win over the minnows.
Leon Bailey spared Jamaica’s blushes in last week’s first leg, by rifling in a stoppage-time penalty for a shock 1-1 stalemate inside the Arnos Vale Stadium.
The return leg at Sabina Park transpired to be another fierce battle, with Ezra Hendrickson’s troops only trailing to Warner Brown’s first-half strike with a minute of regular time remaining.
A calamitous 89th-minute own goal from Andrew Johnson, followed by Renaldo Cephas finding the back of the net deep into added time, was enough to earn McClaren’s side a flattering scoreline and a place in the prestigious Gold Cup.
McClaren fielded a strong starting line-up with Arnett Gardens FC forward Brown and Turkish Supa Lig forward Cephas leading the attack, while the trio of Bailey, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Demarai Gray pressed at every opportunity.
Jamaica dominated until midway through the first-half, but were then pinned back as SVG started to find their feet. Reid picked out Jamaica Premier League’s leading scorer Brown, who after slipping away from his marker unleashed a thunderous long-range effort past Lemus Christopher for a deserved lead.
Despite the home supporters rallying on the Boyz, as SVG were leaving big gaps in a desperate bid to equalise, the sides entered the interval with just a goal between them.
It turned into a fast and furious second half, with the visitors defending in their droves and aiming to surprise Jamaica on the counterattack but shotstopper Andre Blake was always equal to the Vincy Heat’s dangerous-looking efforts.
With Isaac Hayden given a tough role alone in the 4-1-3-2 formation, he briefly got some support when Brown was replaced on 81 minutes.
The visitors stepped up a couple of gears with this change and Hendrickson having tweaked his side with a handful of wily substitutions, which forced McClaren to introduce defender Damion Lowe for Hayden on 87 minutes.
Having shored up the backline with five players, the Boyz appeared to be satisfied with a slender 1-0 success. Yet they were gifted a second goal in the closing stages when Johnson’s attempted clearance went over the head of helpless keeper Christopher.
With the game sewn up and the Boyz buoyant, Charlton Athletic’s former Arnett Gardens FC striker Kaheim Dixon was given a bit part as a 92nd-minute sub for Gray to play along Cephas.
During their brief partnership, Ankaragucu’s Cephas fired past Christopher four minutes into stoppage time to ensure that Jamaica reached the Gold Cup finals with aplomb.
The Boyz will tackle the Gold Cup finals in Canada and the United States, which kick off on 14 June, when McClaren will require more of a killer instinct from his strikers than relying on opponents to falter in the closing exchanges.
Jamaica were one of seven sides to successfully navigate the two-legged Gold Cup qualifiers last night, joined by Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Martinique, Nicaragua and Trinidad & Tobago. The draw for the 16-team tournament will take place on 10 April.
CONCACAF GOLD CUP PRELIMINARY QUALIFIERS
Costa Rica 6 Belize 1
Costa Rica won 13-1 on aggregate
Guatemala 2 Guyana 0
Guatemala won 4-3 on aggregate
Honduras 2 Bermuda 0
Honduras won 7-3 on aggregate
Jamaica 3 St. Vincent & Grenadines 0
Jamaica won 4-1 on aggregate
Martinique 1 Suriname 0
Martinique won 2-0 on aggregate
Nicaragua 0 Guadeloupe 1
Guadeloupe won 2-0 on aggregate
Trinidad & Tobago 4 Cuba 0
Trinidad & Tobago won 6-2 on aggregate
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