A penalty was the deciding factor between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago in their Tier I Group A clash in the CFU Girls’ U14 Challenge Series, with Jamaica prevailing 1-0. The teams were playing at the ABFA Technical Center in St. John’s, Antigua on Monday.
The temperature around the stadium was cool with cloudy skies hiding the sun. There were Jamaican and Trinidadian flags hung on the fences, and, at the sound of the whistle, a fan shouted, “Soca vs Reggae.”
Trinidad and Tobago were pushed forward by Mia Lee Chong, the conductor in the Trinidadian orchestra. Her vision and range of passes stretched the Jamaicans thin. Chong’s nifty footwork also added fuel to an already burning performance in the early stages for Trinidad and Tobago.
Link-up play on the edge of the 18-yard box between Jayda Herbert and Lexi Sankersingh resulted in the first attempt on goal for Chong.
Jamaica had an opportunity of their own in the 8’ when goalkeeper Akeila Marryshow’s attempted pass out the back found the feet of Ricquanna Richards, but she couldn’t capitalize on the goal-keeping error and put her shot off target, much to Marryshow’s relief.
Jamaica tried to use their flanks to get behind their opponent’s defense, but attempts were foiled on the left-hand side by Hackeemar Goodridge of Trinidad. Her awareness and ability to snub out a pass with fighting spirit made it difficult for Jamaica. Herbert took on defenders from the left side and switched to the right to continue her rampage for the team Soca.
It was Chong with another attempt in the 29’ from a free kick that went just wide of the post. The halfway whistle gave Jamaica a chance to regroup from the continuous pressure as the end-to-end game was deadlocked.
The second half got even more intense with an equalizer seemingly out of reach for both teams.
Herbert broke the deadlock for Jamaica after a penalty was awarded to them for a handball in the penalty box. She made no mistake in the 35’, putting her team in front and on their way to collecting all three points.
Trinidad were not deterred by the score line and still kept the pressure on Jamaica. By this time, the Reggae Girlz parked the bus and strong defensive principles were applied.
Jamaica would go on to secure their first three points of the tournament from a tough encounter.
Trinidad and Tobago will have another go at Puerto Rico on Tuesday, a day ahead of the Jamaica v Puerto Rico fixture.
SOURCE: cfufootball.org