Jamaica make hard work of Nations League

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ROMARIO Williams’ 69th-minute tap-in sealed a 2-0 success for Jamaica in Nicaragua last night, for the Reggae Boyz to return to top spot in CONCACAF Nations League A Group B.

Despite being outplayed overall inside the Estadio Nacional de Futbol in Managua, the Boyz picked up precious points thanks to a first-half own goal and Williams’ close-range strike.

Honduras, Jamaica’s next opponents, had temporarily taken over as table-toppers following their 3-2 triumph in French Guiana. That result would have surely helped inspire the Boyz to try and record a win.

Jamaica coach Steve McClaren swapped things around in a bid to halt Nicaragua’s 14-game unbeaten, leaving in-form veteran striker Michail Antonio to warm the bench with his 4-2-3-1 formation that was spearheaded by Indy Eleven forward Williams.

The Boyz got off to a shaky start, Joel Latibeaudiere was booked after seven minutes and then Williams made a glaring miss with a poor header. The hosts kept pressing upfield, especially with hopeful long balls along the left wing, only to find the Jamaica defence too tricky to penetrate and their half-hearted efforts blocked.

Juan Barrera’s stinging long-range left-footer gave the home fans something to savour from their skipper, despite his effort being denied by ‘keeper Andre Blake on 27 minutes.

Nicaragua started to look disheartened and dropped back, which proved to be a costly mistake and led to the opening goal. Bobby Decordova-Reid’s 32nd-minute shot was erroneously bundled over the line by luckless defender Josue Quijano, who was trying to cut out the danger.

The remainder of the first-half became a tense midfield battle, with Nicaragua unable to find any space and committing a series of fouls to prevent Jamaica coming close to extending their lead. Yet it was surprising that the ref only showed Decordova-Reid a yellow before the break.

Following a tame start to the second-half, on 52 minutes there was some overdue action. Even though this comprised Nicaragua throwing on defender Henry Nino for midfielder Jason Coronel and Damion Lowe booked for a hard tackle, which means that the central defender will be suspended for the Honduras clash.

With a new formation it was Nicaragua who pushed forward and began to create space, and just before the hour-mark a dangerous break saw Jaime Moreno flagged offside.

With the hosts bossing the contest, they altered their shape once more with strikers Byron Bonilla and Moreno hauled off to be replaced by midfielder duo Ariel Arauz and Brazil-based Jacob Montes. Despite a set of counter-attacks, with the left flank Jamaica’s weakest link, Nicaragua could not beat Blake and his solid defence.

Jamaica doubled the lead, courtesy of Williams latching onto the rebound following Greg Leigh’s glancing header from Decordova-Reid’s corner. This ended up being Jamaica’s only corner, whereas the hosts notched seven throughout the encounter.

Nicaragua head coach Marco Antonio Figueroa immediately swapped his left back, by throwing on Anyelo Velasquez for Oscar Acevedo, to lift the spirit.This subtle switch seemed to do the trick, as they kept Jamaica at bay and dominated the final 20 minutes. Veteran defender Josue Quijano was guilty of squandering a chance to reduce the deficit, shooting wide of the gaping goalmouth, and was abruptly substituted with attacking midfielder Harold Medina given 15 minutes to try and help snatch a point.

Mason Holgate, whose passport and FIFA approval had been rushed through, made his Jamaica debut with a 15-minute run out after replacing Latibeaudiere.

McClaren constantly tweaked his side to try and confuse the opposition, although it appeared to bamboozle his team as well with Renaldo Cephas and Norman Campbell brought on for Tyreek Magee and Demarai Gray respectively.

On the brink of the full-time whistle a pair of saves from Andre Blake earned the Boyz a clean sheet, with Matias Moldskred coming the closest to scoring on 88 minutes.

Jamaica will aim to continue their remarkable record against Central American sides when they face Honduras at Kingston’s National Stadium on October 14, in what will be a battle for the top spot. Jamaica lead the group after three matches with seven points, followed by Honduras on six and Nicaragua with four. Cuba has three points, Trinidad & Tobago two and French Guiana prop up the table with only one point.

The Boyz are unbeaten in their past seven meetings with Honduras, having won six times on the spin that includes September’s 2-1 triumph in Tegucigalpa, and following this victory over Nicaragua should be instilled with renewed confidence.

JAMAICA: Blake – Leigh, Pinnock, Lowe, T.Gray – Anderson, Latibeaudiere (Holgate, 75) – D.Gray (Campbell, 84), Decordova-Reid, Magee (Cephas, 78) – R.Williams. Subs: Lembikisa, King, Palmer, Antonio, Davis, Dixon, Bell, Waite

CONCACAF Nations League A Group B Results Cuba 2 Trinidad & Tobago 2 French Guiana 2 Honduras 3 Nicaragua 0 Jamaica 2

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