Photo: The Reggae Boyz have advanced to the second round of the Concacaf Gold Cup following their 2-0 win over Guadelope on Thursday.
Jamaica went atop of the Concacaf Gold Cup 2021 Group C for two hours, when they beat Guadeloupe 2-1 at Exploria Stadium on Friday. The host went ahead curtesy of a well-placed own goal by Imari’I Bell that wrong-footed Jamaica’s custodian Andre Blake in the 4th minute.
The visitors equalized with a well taken goal from the edge of the box by Philadelphia Union’s talisman Corey Burke. The strike is the 7th goal from his 17th cap wearing the national uniform.
An evenly poised game, one which seemed destined for a stalemate in what would have been the Gwada Boys first point of the tournament took a dramatic twist near the end.
Three minutes from their first point or a possible win against Jamaica for 30 years their resistance finally collapsed. Twinkle toed substitute Junior Flemmings bobbed and weaved his way through a sea of players before sending his shot through the legs of Guadeloupe’s shot stopper Yohann Thuram-Ulien’s legs and into the back of the net to secure the maximum points for Jamaica.
Guadeloupe was pegged back in their half during the early proceedings but got a stroke of luck after Jamaica’s defense was caught out after Alvas Powell tried to play a flat ball back into the attacking third during a failed free kick. The ball fell kindly to Matthias Phaeton who played a delightful pass out wide to Dimitri Ramothe. His attempted inswinging cross bounce off the thigh of Bell, then kissed the post before nestling up in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute.
Guadeloupe produced some dazzling displays there on, despite Jamaica dominating possession. Ten minutes after the opening goal striker Corey Burke restored parity after collecting the spills from Shamar Nicholson then fired home a thunderbolt pass the hapless Thuram-Ulien in goal.
The Reggae Boyz should have added a second goal five minutes before the halftime break when Leon Bailey found an unmarked Nicholson in the box from a corner kick, but he sent his firm header wide of the frame of the goal. Andre Blake justified his recent contract renewal with the Philadelphia Union until 2024 with a sublime save on the stroke of half time to keep the score at 1-1 at the interval.
Jamaica came out stronger after the break and thought they had the go-ahead goal in the 63rd minute when Corey Burke sent Nicholson clean through one and one with goalkeeper Thuram-Ulien’s, but he miraculously blasted his right-foot shot high wide but certainly not handsome into the stands.
Coach Theodore Whitmore shuffled the deck and brought on some fresh legs to inject a little more pace and direct play in search of the winner. Guadeloupe fought gallantly and created chances periodically throughout the final stages.
However, Jamaica’s superiority was evident, and the pressure started showing as Guadeloupe struggled to keep possession and there was an air of inevitability about the finale.
The tricky Birmingham Legion winger Junior Flemmings imposed himself on the game from the moment he stepped on the pitch. His effort finally paid off in the 87th minute after a neat passage of play between Kemar Lawrence, Leon Bailey and Daniel Johnson before Bailey found the wily Flemmings who tunnelled his way through the brick wall of defenders to score a beauty off his left foot to make it 2-1.
Substitute Andre Gray almost made it 3-1 but his right-foot shot was too predictable and Thuram-Ulien’s did well to save it, after he nutmeged Anthony Baron and left him in a heap in his wake.
The win lifted Jamaica to first place with 6 points from 2 games, levelled on points with Costa Rica, who carved out a 2-1 nervy win over Suriname in the afternoon’s second game.
Both teams will battle for top of the table prize on the 20th of July at the Exploria Stadium. Suriname, zero win thus far will seek to get the better of Guadeloupe in the final group game.
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