BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
CATHERINE HALL, St James — Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore says he is “very disappointed” in Jamaica’s elimination from the CONCACAF Under-20 Championships before getting a shot at a World Cup berth after losing to the USA 2-0 in their Group A game at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Sunday.
In his post-game press conference, Whitmore said “injuries and the suspension of influential player Junior Flemmings” were contributing factors for their loss.
Jamaica lost three straight games where they failed to score a goal after coming from two goals down in their first game to draw 2-2 against Trinidad a week ago.
Romaine Gall’s two penalty conversions on Sunday — one in the 33rd minute and the other in the 70th — gave the USA a well-needed victory over the hosts, boosting their chances of a place in Saturday’s play-offs .
Jamaica, who finished with 10 players after substitute Daniel Roberts was sent off, are fifth in the group with one point, only better than first-time qualifiers Aruba, who lost all four games played so far.
In the second game on Sunday, Guatemala beat Aruba 2-0 with goals from Carlos Estrada, who scored from a ‘bicycle’ kick in the 43rd minute, and Kevin Bordon in the 60th.
Panama lead with 12 points after beating nine-man Trinidad and Tobago 1-0, followed by Guatemala on 10 points, USA on seven, and Trinidad and Tobago on four.
The two group winners will automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the next two teams in the groups will playoff for the other two places from CONCACAF.
Whitmore said, despite the odds facing a traditional CONCACAF powerhouse, “we could have gotten something out of the game”. “We knew the USA was always going to be tough, but we gave up two penalties that could have been avoided,” he lamented.
Injuries, he said, which limited top striker Michael Seaton to 45 minutes in the tournament and the suspension of Flemmings through yellow card accumulation, did not help the cause.
But when the Young Boys played, Whitmore thought a lack of creativity hampered any hopes of success.
“We did not create enough scoring opportunities,” he said, a fact supported by statistics showing Jamaica having just four shots at the USA goal, all off target in the 90 minutes played.
The USA in comparison had 11 shots at goal and forced errors by the defenders who were under pressure all night. But the outstanding central defender Rennico Clarke, who wore the captain’s arm band and goalkeeper Nicholas Nelson, saved the hosts further embarrassment.
The USA got off to a good start and pushed Jamaica back in their own defence for long periods in the first half, but Nelson had two good saves to keep them out.
They got their first breakthrough in the 33rd minute when defender Allando Brown fouled Tommy Thompson in the box and Gall, who had a hat-trick in their 8-0 drubbing of Aruba in the previous game, slotted home easily.
Jamaica managed to get into the USA’s 18-yard box in the 44th minute when overlapping defender Khalil Stewart dribbled around the defenders and into the area and crossed to the penalty spot where the ball was cut off by alert US defenders.
The US continued to dominate in the second half, and despite the coaching staff making changes to the Jamaican attacking options, they got little or no chances at their opponents’ goal.
Another mistake in the 70th minute that led to Nelson being forced to foul American striker Bradford Jamieson in the 70th minute, led to another penalty that Gall had no trouble in converting.
Roberts, who had replaced John Luca Levee in the 58th minute to add to the offensive thrust, was sent off in the 85th minute after a foul committed close to the centre circle.
–>
View the original article here
Uninspired U-20 Boyz bow out of World Cup chase
