‘Golden Jaguars’ go down to Guatemala 3-0 in Atlanta

Nov 19, 2010 Sports

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US born 18 year-old Brandon Beresford makes debut

By Franklin Wilson in Atlanta Compliments Mistenden Soccer Co.,
Anglin’s Enterprise and
Camptown of New York

A double by Guatemalan Captain Guillermo Ramirez, one either side of play and a single strike by Transito Montepeque led Guatemala to a comfortable 3-0 win over Guyana’s ‘Golden Jaguars’ when the two countries clashed in a friendly international at the KSU Soccer Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia on Wednesday night.
Witnessed by a vociferous and energetic Guatemalan crowd numbering close to 4000 on a very cold evening, the victors tamed the Jaguars who would have certainly preferred to battle in warmer conditions.
Guyana, though, barring a few lapses which proved to be very costly at this level, gave a good account of themselves and with more games of this caliber will certainly be a force to be reckoned with outside of the Caribbean.
The opening 20 minutes of the battle was more or less even with both sides feeling out and gauging each other.
Guyana, missing their number one goalkeeper Ronson Williams, starting midfielder Walter ‘Boyd’ Moore and Shawn Beveney, opted to start with Jason Lloyd between the uprights; Captain Howard Lowe, Charles Pollard, Christopher Bourne and Brion Baker in defence; John Rodrigues, Dwayne Jacobs, Sean Cameron and Howard Newton manning midfield with Dwight Peters and Dwayne Ali in the forward line.
They matched the much more competitive Guatemalans in the early exchanges. Shots to goal were few and far in the first 20 minutes, Guyana’s first real chance on goal came close in the 19th minute after forcing a corner.
But it was the high level exposure of the Guatemalans at the highest level – having played against Honduras (0-2), Japan (1-2), Belize (4-2), El Salvador (2-1) and Nicaragua (4-1) – which saw them taking the lead after 23 minutes of exchanges.
The alert Transito Montepeque pounced on a loosed ball that was passed back across goal by Pollard with Lloyd slow to react, he latched onto the ball to hit it past Lloyd angling it across him to the far post to send the Guatemalan supporters into a frenzy in the freezing conditions certainly not affecting the fans who kept the atmosphere warm with their chants and beating of drums.
The majority of Guyanese players were decked out in gloves and skin tight under shirts as they tried to combat the testing weather.
After taking the lead, Guatemala continued to control play with Captain Ramirez, a crowd favorite, creating anxious moments for the Jaguars’ defence whenever he had possession of the ball.
Six minutes after they {Guatemala}cantered into the lead, Ramirez found goal scoring range to double the advantage for his country. The defence allowed the nippy forward too much space on the right side and rather than shutting him down allowed him space and the opening to unleash a left foot shot past Lloyd; even the hard working Bourne tried to clear the ball as it eased over the line but his effort was in vain.
The score line could have
easily been increased in the 35th minute but Lloyd stole the ball off the feet of Ramirez.
Just before the half (41st) Head Coach Dover introduced USA based midfielder Chris Nurse to the game with Ali making way.
The Jaguars were much more forceful in the second half of the game as they pushed forward more confidently. Their second substitution came in the 54th minute when the England based Fabian Brown replaced Peters who along with Ali were not granted much opportunities to penetrate the stiff Guatemalan defence.
But even as the Jaguars pushed forward, Ramirez seized the opportunity to put the game beyond the reach of the ‘Golden Jaguars’ skillfully nudging in his second and his side’s third in the 63rd minute.
Two minutes later, goalkeeper Lloyd who plays with Manchester in England was replaced by Derick Carter the reigning Kashif & Shanghai best goalkeeper. Carter looked much more relaxed between the uprights and was much more decisive and confident in controlling his area.
Guyana tried their best to pull one back but the Guatemalan defence stood firm as they denied every effort.
While the battle continued, USA born midfielder Brandon Beresford was drafted into the team as a number of players were unable to make it. Beresford, who attends Graceland University, made his senior international debut when he replaced Brion Baker in the 78th minute.      Both of his parents are Guyanese and were present at the game to share that special moment with their son.
Two minutes to game time, Chris Nurse was taken out of the game after hurting himself following a tackle; he was replaced by Kevin Beaton.
Speaking at the post match press conference, Head Coach Wayne Dover said he was happy that Guyana were able to play its first game in the US against a highly competitive team like Guatemala which allowed the Technical staff to assess the team at this level. “I think we have done ourselves proud, we have put up a good performance but the better team came away with the win on the night.”
Commenting on the weather, Dover said it was a factor to an extent with some of the players complaining about the coldness of the place even at practice sessions.  “It was freezing tonight but we tried to make the best of it. I don’t however want to blame that solely on the outcome of the game; Guatemala had a solid performance and have good technical players with good tactical understanding and they made it difficult for us.”
Dover also pointed out that at this level you cannot make mistakes and expect opposing teams not to make you pay for them, “you will be punished when you make mistakes.”
Speaking on the upcoming Digicel Caribbean Cup finals where Guyana is one of eight countries competing, Dover noted that the game against Guatemala was ideal exposure for his charges ahead of what is anticipated to be a highly competitive competition.
“We felt that this is ideal for us since we will be coming up against the likes of Guadeloupe, Antigua & Barbuda and Jamaica in Group I.
“We measured the performance tonight and we know the areas that we have to work on to better ourselves.”
The local based players, Howard Lowe, Derick Carter, Dwain Jacobs, Dwight Peters, Dwayne Ali, along with Head Coach Wayne Dover and Manager Rawle Adams returned back home yesterday.

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