Jamaica extended their lead atop Group B of the CONCACAF Nations League A after a 4-1 beating of Grenada inside the Kirani James Stadium in St George’s on Thursday evening.
Romario Williams (12th minute), Shamar Nicholson (23rd minute), Demarai Gray (74th) and Bobby Reid (87th) were on target for Jamaica, while Trevon Williams in the 30th minute got Grenada’s consolation.
Jamaica had won the first game 1-0 against Honduras, while they drew the second game 2-2 with Haiti. In other games from the group on Thursday, Suriname drew 1-1 with Haiti, and Cuba and Honduras ended 0-0.
On Sunday, Jamaica will oppose Haiti inside the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad; Suriname host Grenada, and Honduras will engage Cuba. All games will be played at 7:00 pm (Jamaica time).
Victory for the Reggae Boyz on Sunday would position them atop Group B, and will advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face either Canada or Costa Rica. If they finish as runners-up, they will face Mexico or the US for a chance to participate in the Copa America Tournament scheduled for June 20 to July 14 next year in the US.
Romario Williams gives Jamaica the lead
Jamaica went ahead from a right-sided corner swung in by left-back Gregory Leigh which was headed powerfully goalwards by central defender Di’Shon Bernard, only for goalkeeper Jason Belfon to parry back into play and at the boot of Williams, who made no mistake poking the ball into the net.
It was Williams’ first goal in many moons.
Shortly after Gray served up a neat pass for Nicholson, but his goalbound right-footed shot was blocked.
Jamaica’s attacks were relentless and before long Joel Latibeaudiere stole possession of the ball and relayed a pass to Williams, who turned provider by releasing Nicholson and this time he made no mistake doubling the advantage.
But with half an hour gone, the home side halved the deficit when Trevon Williams raced in front of his marker to slide the ball home.
Chances went abegging in the early stages of the second half and it wasn’t until the last quarter hour beckoned when Gray extended the lead after he received a well-weighted pass from Bernard on the left and he made no mistake sliding the ball past Belfon.
Bobby Reid completes victory with 4th goal
Reid completed the score at the death after substitute Daniel Johnson played a free-kick over the top and the Fulham player placed the ball well out of the reach of Belfon.
Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson was pleased with the result. “We needed the win and we got three points,” he said before adding that it was a game of “two halves”. He noted that the team might have scored “maybe too early” and appeared to have dropped their standard of play.
However, he believes that the players produced more energy and togetherness in the second half.
Meanwhile, Nicholson was elated with the result, as well as the personal satisfaction of breaking the goalscoring jinx.
“Tough game but a victory is a victory, that’s the most important thing, just enjoy the game and now we move on to the next game this Sunday,” the former Boys’ Town FC player said.
“It’s a good feeling to score for the national team. It’s been a while, but I’ve been putting in the work and I know the goals will come. The hard work has finally started to pay off, so it’s a nice feeling.”
Teams P W D L F A GD Pts
Jamaica 3 2 1 0 7 3 4 7
Cuba 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 5
Honduras 3 1 1 1 4 1 3 4
Haiti 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 3
Suriname 3 0 2 1 2 3 -1 2
Grenada 3 0 1 2 2 9 -7 1
