Senior Girlz given another chance against Guyana
JAMAICA Senior Reggae Girlz will tackle Guyana today at the Ato Boldon Stadium, starting at 4:30 pm Jamaican time, in a do-or-die match as the try to clinch the third and final Caribbean Football Union Olympic-qualifying spot.
Jamaica crashed 1-2 in extra-time to arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) after playing to a 1-1 draw in normal time on Wednesday, while Guyana lost 0-1, also in extra-time, to Puerto Rico.
T&T and Puerto Rico join the USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala in the final CONCACAF round, from which two teams will qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
The pressure is now on Jamaica to secure that win over Guyana and book their spot after squandering several clear-cut chances against T&T, a fact that peeved Head Coach Hue Menzies.
“You have to come here to win a game to get through, and hopefully this is the game for us. The kids have put themselves under pressure now and they’ve got to deal with it,” said a disappointed Menzies.
“We got our chances and the players stepped up in the second half of extra time. We put a lot of pressure on them and looking at the stats, we had seven breakaways…we got to finish at the end of the day,” lamented Menzies.
Jamaica had their final training session yesterday evening at a makeshift field after the scheduled training facility at the Ato Boldon Stadium was waterlogged.
Natasha Douglas sat out the session and will miss today’s game after complaining about chest pains during in Wednesday’s game.
Coach Menzies has made four changes to his starting team, bringing in strikers Venecia Reid and Tashana Vincent to replace Donna Kay Henry and Shaneka Gordon to partner Captain Christine Exeter upfront.
Kenesha Reid comes in for the injured Douglas at right back and will complement a backline of Lauren Silver, Konya Plummer and Sashana Campbell.
Shanise Foster gets the nod over Christina Murray in midfield to play alongside veteran Jodi-Ann McGregor and the extremely skilful and intelligent Chinyelu Asher, who was the majority’s player of the game against Trinidad and Tobago.
“Some of us are pros, and if people aren’t producing we got to make some changes to get the result. We feel confident with the 18 players we brought in and we are going to put people in who can do the job,” said Menzies
“We watched Guyana play and we feel we will match up well with them and we just have to go out there and execute,” he added.
On Wednesday, Jodi Ann McGregor scored from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time after Captain Christine Exeter was fouled in the box by Trinidad goalkeeper Kamika Forbes.
But the home team responded as Dernelle Mascall pulled T&T levelled in the 62nd minute, turning in a left-sided cross as the game ended 1-1 in normal time.
T&T’s Tasha St Louis won the game in the first minute of extra time, outmuscling two Jamaican defenders and firing home. Only seconds earlier, Jamaica’s substitute Venicia Reid failed to score with only the goalkeeper to beat.
That was just one of many chances that the Senior Reggae Girlz missed and they paid the price for the profligacy.
Teams: Jamaica — Nicole McClure, Lauren Silver, Konya Plummer, Sashana Campbell, Natasha Douglas (Kenesha Reid 87th), Jodi-Ann McGregor, Christina Murray (Shanise Foster 71st), Chinyelu Asher, Shaneka Gordon, Donna-Kay Henry (Venecia Reid 65th), Christine Exeter.
Subs not used: Taylor Grant, Monique Pryce, Ashleigh Shim, Tashana Vincent.
Booked: None
Coach: Hue Menzies
Trinidad and Tobago — Kamika Forbes, Danielle Blair, Arin King, Tasha St Louis (Annalis Cummings 110th), Janine François, Akeela Mollon, Karin Forbes, Victorias Swift, Lauren Hutchinson, Khadidra Debesett, Dernelle Mascall (Chevonne John (63rd).
Subs not used: Nicolette Craig, Tenesha Palmer, Melissa Woo Ling, Daniella Findlay, Naomie Guerra, Sharain Cummings.
Booked: Kamika Forbes (45th)
Coach: Anthony Creece.
Referee: Gillian Martindale (Barbados)
Assistant Referees: Shirley Perello Lopez (Honduras), Kimberly Morreira (Costa Rica)
Fourth Official: Carline Reid-Willis (Cayman Islands)
Match Commissioner: Andrea Thompson (Cayman Islands)