Two-goal heroine Kameron Simmonds has hailed the young Reggae Girlz improved performance after their 3-0 thumping of Cuba in their second game of the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championship on Monday.
Jamaica opened its campaign on Saturday with a shock 1-0 defeat to Guatemala after missing a series of chances to score in their Group H opener at Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic.
Yesterday’s win saw the Girlz rebound to sit in third place on three points in the four-team group in which the top three teams advance to the next phase.
Haiti, who had defeated Cuba 2-1 in their opener, battled to a 1-1 result with Guatemala in Monday’s late game at the same venue.
“I feel great. It [win] was definitely needed in order to come back after the tough loss we took on Saturday, so a great performance was needed, it was necessary, and it feels great to be able to score,” declared Simmonds, who netted in the 34th and 49th minutes.
Substitute Christina Salmon added the other strike in the 81st minute and was desperately close to hitting at least two others.
“We definitely need to keep building off a much, much better performance from Saturday, and we are talking much better, we were handling the ball much better, and we just need to grow and continue on that,” Simmonds, a striker with a powerful shot, added.
In the first game on Saturday, the Xavier Gilbert-coached girls wasted numerous chances and were made to pay with a 90th-minute strike by substitute Marie Contreras.
The Reggae Girlz goalkeeper Liya Brooks was called on to make a 67th-minute penalty save.
On Monday, the Jamaicans were even more dominant as they pinned the Cubans back into their own half and created many chances, which were spurned by faulty finishing, poor decision-making, or lack of composure when it mattered.
Haiti and Guatemala, on four points, have advanced to the next phase, with Jamaica next on three points and Cuba yet to gain a point.
Jamaica engages Haiti on Wednesday, with Guatemala up against Cuba.
