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Suriname tame ‘Golden Jaguars’
Advance to semis of 2010 CONCACAF WC Qualification
By Franklin Wilson
They could not have asked for better crowd support, actually the massive support shown by a wide cross section of Guyanese ended in disappointing style as the ‘Golden Jaguars’ went under to Suriname 2-1 in their return fixture at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence yesterday afternoon.
Suriname advance to the semi-final stage of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualification series, 3-1 on aggregate after taking victory in the first leg game in Paramaribo 1-0.
Yesterday’s encounter, saw the Jaguars falling to a much more composed and focused unit on a surface that has been described by all and sundry as the best they have ever seen in the entire Caribbean.
And the quality of the surface was not motivation enough for the local ball weavers to take victory; instead they succumbed by the odd goal in three and began to play like real Jaguars when it was way too late.
Suriname fired in the first goal after only 11 minutes of play, Germaine Vandyck capitalizing on some poor defensive work by the Guyanese to rock the nets from a rebound off a free kick.
Goalkeeper Richard Reynolds actually got a touch on the ball twice but did not have any back up to clear the ball away.
The goal came at a time when the Guyanese were enjoying fairly good ball possession but were guilty of not taking shots to goal. Chances were created but the Guyanese marksmen up front were guilty of not shooting to goal.
The exchanges continued but Guyana still enjoyed a fair amount of possession. The crowd at intervals did do their bit to encourage the players especially when the ball was in the Surinamese defensive area.
The lack of bite up front and the equal lack of urgency to score effectively ended the Guyanese quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup to be hosted by South Africa.
The deal was effectively sealed in favor of Suriname in the 36th minute when Clifton Sandvliet banged his shot past Reynolds to the utter excitement of his teammates and their small band of supporters but more importantly, their country.
The Jaguars never looked real threatening up front despite enjoying possession and making a number of runs into the attacking third.
Three changes were made in the 2nd half as the Technical Staff tried to narrow the deficit, Collie Hercules replaced Anthony Abrams in the 63rd minute, Dwight Peters came on for Carey Harris 8 minutes later with Shawn Bishop making way for Howard Newton in the 79th.
These changes added a bit of energy to the Guyanese attack with the energetic Newton showing that he has the ability to take the attack to his opponents which brought the crowd to life.
Nigel Codrington was finally able to pull the trigger and find the target with 6 minutes to game time but it was just too late for a comeback.
When the final whistle was blown by referee Courtney Campbell of Jamaica it was joy and excitement for Suriname who have avenged their 5-0 loss in the Digicel Caribbean Cup but more significantly, booked their semi-final place in the CONCACAF round of Qualifying.
For the Golden Jaguars, the loss has shattered their dreams of making it to this World Cup.
Meanwhile, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico all earned their places to the semi-final Round of the 2010 CONCACAF World Cup Qualification after winning their respective Stage 2 Series on Saturday.
Gonzalo Romero scored twice, while Abner Trigueros added another for Guatemala in the 3-1 victory over St. Lucia at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The win also gave the Chapines the series 9-1 on aggregate.
Two goals each from Fernando Arce and Jared Borgetti led Mexico to a 7-0 triumph against visiting Belize at the Estadio Universitario in Monterrey and gave the Tricolor the series 9-0 on aggregate score.
Elsewhere, Costa Rica ended a 12-game winless streak as they topped Grenada at home by 3-0 at San José’s Estadio Ricardo Saprissa.
Randall Azofeita, Bryan Ruiz and Alvaro Saborio scored for the Ticos as they won the series 5-2 on aggregate.
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