[ad_1]
It was almost a perfect return to Grenada for national senior head coach Vin Blaine. The only thing lacking was more goals, which could play a factor in the women’s Concacaf World Cup qualifying campaign.
Jamaica dominated from start to finish but only managed to beat Grenada 6-1 in their second World Cup qualifying game at the Kirani James Athletic Stadium yesterday afternoon.
Backed by braces from Jody Brown (42nd and 55th minutes) and Khadija Shaw (45th and 90 minutes) as well as strikes from Tiffany Cameron (28th minute) and Alika Keene (73rd minute), the Reggae Girlz got their second win of the campaign heading into their month-long break. Roneisha Frank got Grenada’s consolation in the 52nd minute.
However, with the Dominican Republic beating Grenada 9-0 on Thursday and Cayman Islands 4-0 on Saturday, Jamaica are in second place in Group C, with only a plus-goal difference compared to the Dominican Republic (plus-13), who now lead the group although tied on six points.
Despite the scoreline, Blaine, who was technical director of the Grenada Women’s programme for two years, said that they were not at their best and missed an opportunity to close the goal-difference gap, with only the group winners guaranteed to advance to the final round.
“You could see today that we were off. Grenada were playing behind the ball all the time, and they played with six in defence. Six goals in any game would be a good score regardless of who we play,” Blaine said. “But the goal was to try and get more goals to overcome the goal difference first. We still have two games to play, and we have to win those two games.”
While Jamaica dominated the game throughout, they took some time to take advantage of the various opportunities. Captain Khadija Shaw had the Reggae Girlz’s first chance in the 13th minute cutting inside and firing a shot that tested Grenadian goalkeeper Tiranha Williams. Soon after, Chinleyu Asher’s corner almost sneaked into the net, which Williams had no choice but to tip over. Despite Jamaica exposing Grenada’s backline, they had moments where they frustrated them, whether it was blocking passing lanes or managing to get the ball in Jamaica’s final third. However, there was no end product.
But the breakthrough finally came in the 28th minute when a pass to Shaw saw her round Williams but was unable to find the back of the net. But she managed to find Cameron inside the penalty area and rifled the ball into the net.
While the goal did open Grenada up, it would be 13 minutes before Jamaica would be able to add another. After Brown was previously flagged for offside on two occasions, she managed to time her run perfectly, latching on to a through pass from Shaw to finish past Williams for her second goal in as many games. Shaw managed to get her goal with the final play of the first half finishing from close range for her third of the campaign.
The start of the second half did not stick to the Jamaican script as Grenada hit back with their first shot on target. After losing the ball in midfield, a pass found Frank, and she fired her shot past Schneider for Grenada’s first goal of the campaign.
Frank’s goal would be the only joy that Grenada would get for the rest of the game as Brown proceeded to restore Jamaica’s three-goal advantage two minutes later and began a relentless pursuit of goals. Hoping to close the gap, Jamaica would have chances to further increase their lead but were wasteful with their opportunities. Substitute Alika Frank got in on the action in the 73rd minute with a long-range strike, and Shaw in the closing stages of the game would get her second with a well-placed header from close range.
Jamaica will play Cayman Islands on April 9 and will finish the group at home against the Dominican Republic on April 12.
daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com
Jamaica: Sydney Schneider, Gabrielle Gayle, Chantelle Swaby (Alika Keene 54 minute), Allyson Swaby (Vyan Sampson 19th minute), Sashana Campbell (Dominique Bond-Flasza 45th minute), Chinyelu Asher, Kayla McCoy, Jody Brown, Trudi Carter, Tiffany Cameron (Olufosade Adamolekun 70th minute), Khadija Shaw
[ad_2]
Source link
