ORLANDO — Jamaica gave away an early own goal but came back scoring a late winner to manage a 2-1 win over Guadeloupe in the Gold Cup at Exploria Stadium on Friday night.
Four minutes into the match Guadeloupe had a lead after a strong run from Dimitri Ramothe saw him charging into the box. That saw Amari’i Bell try to stop the effort but he could only put it in the back of his own net.
Ten minutes later and Jamaica was back on level terms. Some slick passing had the Gwada Boys backline scrambling which allowed Cory Burke to hit a powerful shot from outside the box leaving the goalkeeper stranded.
Three minutes from time the pressure from the Reggae Boyz finally told. Leon Bailey was able to get in the box and set up Junior Flemmings who was able to use his footwork to create space and put it past the keeper for the winner.
Once the own goal went in Jamaica went for it, attacking the ball and constantly setting up chances for the favorites. The equalizer could have come in the 8th minute when a free-kick was unleashed but a little far out to trouble keeper.
Chances were still coming for Guadeloupe with Matthias Phaeton pulling the strings in midfield to try and find a second goal for the unfancied French side. He went the closest in the 23rd minute to getting a second goal for them, hitting a powerful strike from distance, denied by a strong Andre Blake save.
It was slick passing that was opening opportunities up for Jamaica and that would eventually be what got the side the win. There would have been more goals if not for some stunning goalkeeping from Yohann Thuram who very nearly put in a match-saving performance.
With the result, Jamaica is all but through to the next stage while Guadeloupe would need a stunning reversal in fortunes to advance.
Photo courtesy Concacaf
Florida Soccer Report 