A late goal by Tevin Slater denied the Golden Jaguars a hard-fought away victory over St. Vincent and the Grenadines when CFU legs of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers commenced yesterday at the Arnos Vale Stadium.
With only six minutes remaining in normal time and the visitors leading 2-1, the substitute forward made his presence felt after coming on in the 52nd minute as he found the back of the net compliments of a 84th minute strike. With the unavailability of England born and based quartet Neil Danns, Matthew Briggs, Sam Cox and Marcel Barrington due to the GFF’s inability to acquire their Guyanese citizenship from the government, the management staff opted for a reshuffled starting XI consisting of Akel Clarke (goalkeeper), Dwain Jacobs, Colin Nelson, Jamal Smith, Walter Moore, Chris Nurse, Brandon Beresford, Vurlon Mills, Daniel Wilson, Emery Welshman and Sheldon Holder.
The loss of the four overseas seemed not to bother the Guyanese too much as central midfielder Brandon Beresford pushed them into the lead, netting in the 29th minute. Guyana would eventually maintain their lead going into the half-time interval, with the only blemish in the period coming from a resulting yellow card shown to custodian Clarke in the 41st minute.
The break seemed to revitalize the home side as midfielder Cornelius Stewart equalised, etching his name on the scorer’s sheet four minutes into the second stanza. The Guyanese would then pick up a second yellow card as Moore was cautioned in the 57th minute.
Ricky Shakes and Konata Manning would make their way onto the field for the visitors, coming on for Nurse and Holder respectively in the 66th and 71st minutes.
The Golden Jaguars would eventually retake the lead, stunning the home side as forward Wilson scored in the 75th minute. Nonetheless, the home side would have the final say as Slater levelled the matchup six minutes before the end of regulation time.
The return leg will now be contested at the National Stadium in Providence on June 14th. Unlike previous qualification tourney’s, CONCACAF has opted to make the first three rounds of the event elimination matchups, with the fourth and final round utilizing a group format.
