Golden Jaguars play to 1-1 draw with Soca Warriors

Guyana’s winless run on the International Football circuit continued last evening as they battled to an admirable 1-1 result with home side Trinidad and Tobago at the Ato Bolton Stadium.

Given Guyana’s abysmal record against the Soca Warriors, 11-1 in 15 previous meetings, the outcome can be viewed as a positive result. [The Golden Jaguars only win in their history occurred on November 11th 2011, a result that eliminated the Trinidadians from the World Cup Qualifiers].

Sheldon Holder gave the 165th ranked Guyanese belief in securing their second win in more than seven years against the 83rd ranked locals, placing his effort into the back of the net in the 19th minute.   

However, the Golden Jaguars were denied the famous win, as Murciélagos FC [Mexican 2ndDivision] winger Shahdon Winchester leveled proceeding with a 60th minute strike.

It was the second draw for the Trinidadians in as many matches, following their 2-2 stalemate with Grenada days prior.

Similarly, the Golden Jaguars as they are commonly known, now boast a record in the year of one loss [1-0 Grenada] and two draws [0-0 Martinique] following the result in the twin island republic.

Guyana’s previous win occurred on June 4th 2016, compliments of a 7-0 result against lowly United States Virgin Islands at the Providence National Stadium.

Prior to the kickoff, the visiting unit, whose 18 member squad featured 15 overseas based players, fielded a starting XI consisting of Emery Welshman, Terence Vancooten, Jelani Smith, Jake Newtown, Sheldon Holder, Warren Creavalle, Samuel Cox, Brandon Beresford, Chris Bourne, Kadell Daniels and Andrew Durant.

On the other hand, the hosts took a more balanced approach, as they featured five locally based players in their squad, four of which started in the clash.

Their starting XI were, Marvin Phillip, Sheldon Bateau, Neil Benjamin, Jamille Boatswain, Aubrey David, Levi Garcia, Nathaniel Garcia, Neveal Hackshaw, Alvin Jones, Nathan Lewis and Josiah Trimmingham.