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Junior Jaguars defeat 9-man Netherlands Antilles 2-1 to salvage some pride
By Franklin Wilson in Suriname
In association with Fazia’s Collection, Len’s Craft Optical and Lifetime Reality
They almost seemed destined for their third defeat in as many matches in the second-stage of CONCACAF Under-20 qualifying, but the Junior Jaguars found the resolve to erase a one goal deficit and in turn responded with two unanswered goals to end their sojourn in Suriname on a high yesterday afternoon at the Franklin Essed Stadium.
Working in tandem!!! Junior Jaguars Sheldon Holder (left) and Trayon Bobb woriking the Netherlands Antilles' defense yesterday.
Going into the encounter with two defeats in as many games, Guyana looked ordinary for the most part but still stuck to the task of finding that elusive win. It did come their way, thanks to goals from dependable forward Sheldon Holder in the 70th minute and midfielder Trayon Bobb who netted the winner in the 81st assisted by quick thinking from Holder on a free kick after second half substitute Telson McKinnon was fouled just outside the box on the right side of the Netherlands goal.
The Netherlands were reduced to 9 men in the 88th minute when Brian Anastacia and Terrence Frans were red carded by referee Ignatius Baptiste of Dominica for violent conduct.
Guyana, after sticking out the first 45 minutes which was goalless found themselves trailing when the Netherlands Antilles scored a beauty through Elson Hool in the 64th minute.
Hool, who was unmarked most of the time at the last post, received a cross from the right side just inside the area; with the defence out of his path and only goalkeeper Richie Richards to beat, Hool fired a booming right foot shot on his second touch to beat the usually reliable Richards all ends up, the ball sailing over his outstretched hands.
Richards though, must be complimented for saving Guyana on quite a few occasions with the defence not standing up tall.
And to the credit of the defenders, led by Captain Colin Nelson, they were called upon to work overtime with the midfield not playing compact and guilty of giving up possession all too easy.
The Dutch side dominated ball possession and created quite a few chances but the young Guyanese side proved that they are capable of matching their opponents as they too had a few moments of their own.
Nelson came close to opening the scoring for Guyana in the 62nd minute when his header crashed into the cross bar and rebounded into play.
It was two minutes later that the Netherlands found the opening and capitalised fully when Hool blasted his shot past Richards.
Six minutes later, Holder, who was kept quiet by the Netherlands defenders used his height and stretched to score the equaliser for Guyana. He found himself being hustled by the defence with goalkeeper Jeanuard Martina advancing after being put through by Calvin De Souza who replaced Les Charles-Critchlow.
Smart thinking saw Holder stretching forward to nudge the ball past the advancing Martina, the goal sent the small Guyanese crowd into a frenzy as well as the players and bench.
Both teams made changes, the Netherlands doing so early in both halves. Telson McKinnon’s introduction to the game brought some life upfront which resulted in the winning goal. He {McKinnon} was fouled just outside the box on the right side of the opponents’ goal.
Intelligent work by Holder who called on Bobb to assist with the quickly taken shot produced the winner with Bobb sinking the shot past the keeper and defenders; his first goal at this level with 9 minutes to game time.
Another free kick was won by the Guyanese just in front of the area, the ensuing kick taken by Captain Nelson sailed into the nets but the Referee’s whilst sounded just before the ball entered goal.
This resulted in the Netherlands players protesting which subsequently resulted in the two red cards being issued to Anastacia and Frans in the 88th minute. There was a halt in play for about 8 minutes as the referee sought to restore some order to the game.
Four minutes of added time was shown by the fourth official but the scores remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, Suriname won the group outright with a come from behind 2-1 win over Bermuda and in the process booked the 12th and final place in the CONCACAF finals set for Guatemala in April.
The Surinamese will join automatic North American qualifiers Canada, Mexico and the United States, host Guatemala, Central American qualifiers, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador as well as fellow Caribbean qualifiers Cuba, Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Trinidad for the CONCACAF championship finals April 3-17.
Four teams will qualify for the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia July 20-August 20.
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