The Golden Jaguars recorded their best ever League B win in the CONCACAF Nations League, overcoming a 0-1 first-half deficit to defeat Puerto Rico 3-1 yesterday at the Technical Centre in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Head coach Jamal Shabazz, during a post-match comment, said, “It’s a real deep feeling of joy and satisfaction that understanding how hard work and dedication pay off. Going down in this game, Puerto Rico is a team that can possess the ball and be able to recover, equalize, and then be able to play our game. It was a tremendous effort by the players, and I give total respect to them.”
“It’s important for us to keep our feet on the ground. The medical staff have their work cut out in terms of the players being able to recover. They are a couple players who have gotten some knocks and niggles, and the fact that we are playing this team again means they are certainly wounded, but just as we suffer losses, hurt, and pain, they too would have suffered losses, hurt, and pain, and we are prepared to make every sacrifice to get our boys back on their legs and prepared for Monday after we rest tomorrow for the game on Tuesday.”
It was Guyana’s third consecutive victory in the group, as they maintained their unbeaten record to storm atop the standings, which was engineered by an outstanding second-half performance.
Guyana’s starting XI comprised Quillan Roberts, Jalen Jones, Omari Glasgow, Reiss Greenidge, Liam Gordon, Curtez Kellman, Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Stephen Duke-McKenna, Daniel Wilson, Elliot Bonds, and Kelsey Benjamin.
It was a sublime performance from Guyana, who frustrated the Puerto Ricans with their immense pressing throughout the contest but particularly in the second half, which effectively disrupted the Spanish-speaking outfit’s possession-based offense.
Leandro Antonetti handed Puerto Rico the lead in the 11th minute, slotting home from inside the six-yard area after receiving a cross from the left side. Puerto Rico’s next best chance came in the 54th minute, but onrushing custodian Roberts thwarted Darren Rios with his legs during a one-on-one situation.
It was from this point that Guyana seized control of the encounter, scoring two goals in the space of three minutes. Awarded a penalty kick for a foul on Benjamin, Glasgow equalized for the Golden Jaguars in the 60th minute, rifling his effort into the top left corner.
Benjamin made his presence felt once more, slotting home from inside the six-yard area after latching onto a flat left-sided cross from Liam Gordon. The comeback was then sealed in the 85th minute when substitute forward Deon Moore scored, intercepting the ball following an attempted pass by the goalkeeper outside the right of the box before slotting into the empty net.
With the win, Guyana maintains their perfect record and climbs to the summit of the standings on nine points. The Guyanese will also face off against Puerto Rico in the reverse fixture at the same venue on Tuesday. The Golden Jaguars final two matches are on November 18th and November 21st, respectively, against The Bahamas and Antigua, and Barbuda.
