Jamaican Reggae Boyz exacted sweet revenge on Curacao with a 2-0 win at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California in the CONCACAF Gold Cup group C Opener. The game was played last Sunday evening.
Boosted by two superb goals from Romario Williams and second-half substitute Darren Mattocks, the Jamaicans avenged their defeat at the hands of Curacao in the final of the Caribbean Cup two weeks ago.
Run-of-play
The first half held not much excitement except that Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake was called upon make some superb saves which earned him the man of the march award.
In the second half, the Jamaicans upped the ante. They took the lead after Williams motored down the ride side of the penalty area and scored from an acute angle in the 58th minute.
The Curacao team were not about to roll over and play dead. They relentlessly bombarded the Jamaican goals but were unsuccessful. Again, Blake was artistic in nullifying the persistent attack.
In the 78th minute, Mattocks put the match beyond doubt. He collected across from left full back Kemar ‘Taxi’ Lawrence, and following a touch with his right foot lashed a left-footed volley into the back of the net from 12 yards.
Mexico-Jamaica rematch
The Jamaicans lost the 2015 final 3-1 to favorites Mexico. They will face this team on Thursday at the same venue. Both teams are on three points after Mexico romped to a 3-1 win over El Salvador in Sunday’s feature encounter.
The Reggae Boyz is made up of mostly Jamaican based players.
Copyright 2017 – Caribbean National Weekly News
