ARANJESTAD, Aruba - Jamaica's Under-23 footballers brushed off any concerns they may have off the field with an impressive 6-1 win over Antigua and Barbuda in their Group B CFU Olympic Games qualification tournament at the Complehjo Deportivo here yesterday.
The junior Reggae Boyz's destruction of their opponents was orchestrated by Troy Smith (8th minute), Ricardo Cousins (26th), Keammar Daley (45th), Nicholy Finlayson (51st), Eric Vernon (65th) and Steven Morrissey (70th). Antigua's solitary strike came from the boot of Ken Pennyweather in the 21st minute.
At press time, it was goalless between hosts Aruba and Barbados in the second match of the double-header. After a positive start by the Jamaicans, their first real chance on goal came in the fifth minute of play when Edward Campbell's delightful chip into the area found a lurking Keammar Daley, whose poke on goal was cradled by Antigua goalkeeper, Javid Joseph.
Three minutes later, the Jamaicans' goalward desire paid dividends when backtracking Antiguan defence forced the ball behind for a corner. The resulting kick from the right-side by Troy Smith deceived the goalie and the fluent Reggae Boyz took a deserved lead.
As the game progressed the Jamaicans kept their grip on the throttle, but a minor lapse in concentration created an opening for the eastern Caribbean nation when midfielder Ken Pennyfeather crept behind the Jamaican line of defence to shoot past a sprawled out Dwayne Kerr from the edge of the area in the 21st minute.
But the Jamaicans first-choice side, made up of eight players from the Pan Am Games silver medal-winning bunch, was not rattled by the goal and kept up their positive momentum that paid almost instant return.
In one of their eye-catching forward forays, the Boyz doubled their worth in goal when Under-20 skipper, Ricardo Cousins, unhinged 'keeper Joseph with a 25-yard strike with the outside of the right boot after the Antiguans' failed effort to properly clear the ball, following a left-sided corner.
And with the Jamaican defence appearing to be a bit short on cohesiveness once again, the Antiguans broke through, but the glorious opportunity to tie the score went abegging when an atrocious right-footed kick by Lawson Robinson from a mere 16 yards, crawled harmlessly to Kerr in the frame.
And again soon after a missed chance, the Antiguans conceded again. This time Finlayson, covering the defensive midfield acre, ventured forward to release Daley with a perfectly-weighted ball and the diminutive striker seized the opportunity with a fierce low shot from 18 yards. Jamaica's restart after the half-time break was just as enterprising as the start of proceedings. And just six minutes in, the Boyz scored jumped when Finlayson calmly converted from the 12-yard mark after Edward Campbell was upturned in the area.
And in mere minutes apart from each other, Campbell and Daley had glorious opportunities spurned when they fired wide and hit the post, respectively, from unbelievably close range.
At this stage, if there was any hope of a possible Antigua comeback, that was dashed when the bubbly Jamaicans hit the target once again. The fleet-footed Vernon was taken down inside the box, but was quick on his feet to take the resulting penalty, adding another goal in minute 65.
And the onslaught seemed far from over at this point when Steven Morrissey wriggled his way forward to beat a now forlorn Joseph with a firm shot on the run in the 70th minute.
Meanwhile, technical director of Jamaica's football, Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic surprised many in the contingent here when he arrived late Saturday night to join the team and was on the bench for yesterday's match. Bora was not originally scheduled to travel with the team here. Jamaica will next face Barbados tomorrow at 5:00, while Aruba and Antigua cross swords at 7:00.
TEAMS: Jamaica - Dwayne Kerr, Jermaine Taylor (Keneil Moodie 45th), Ajuran Brown, Troy Smith, Obrian Woodbine, Ricardo Cousins, Nicholy Finlayson, Edward Campbell, Eric Vernon (Donovan Davis 72nd), Stephen Morrissey and Keammar Daley (Bryan Bayliss 67th). Subs not used: D Miller, A Reid, X Virgo, M Harrison Booked: Davis (81st)
Antigua & Barbuda - Javid Joseph, Lauson Limerick, Karanja Mack, Ocie Knight, Jamari Roberts, Ken Pennyfeather, Lawson Robinson, Oral Roberts (Charles Browne 59th), Sadeev Phillip, Jamie Thomas, Randolph Burton (Okeem Challenger) Subs not used: T Lewis, K Chatham, C Silcott, T Crump, S Brooks Booked: Knight (41st)
Referee: Phillip Jordon (T&T) Assistant Referees: Lyndon Burton, Joseph Taylor (T&T) Fourth Official: Jaggernath Goolcharan (T&T) Match Commissary: Victor Daniel (Grenada)
