Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz propelled themselves into pole position in Group C of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying campaign after brushing aside Cayman Islands 9-0 inside the Truman Bodden Stadium in George Town, Cayman Islands on Saturday afternoon.
Trudi Carter and Captain Khadija Shaw notched hat-tricks, while Jody Brown and Kayla McCoy were also on target, while Tamoy Phillips registered an own goal.
The result sets up Jamaica well for next Tuesday’s game against the Dominican Republic at Sabina Park at 6:00 pm. Then the Reggae Girls would only require a draw, having now boast a superior goal difference of 18 against 14 for the Dominican Republic.
Carter was quickly out of the blocks as she opened the scoring in the seventh minute before hitting twice in 60 seconds in the 16th minute.
Tamoy Phillips of Cayman Islands had registered an own goal on 12 minutes and Brown had her strike on 14 minutes for the Vonimore Blaine team to go into the interval leading 5-0 at halftime.
Captain Shaw got into the act and registered strikes in the 54th, 56th and 65th minutes before Kayla McCoy sealed the deal in the 89th minute.
So dominant were the Jamaicans that they produced 30 shots to the Cayman Islands’ zero, with 12 shots on target and none for the hosts. The match stats showed 74 % possession of the ball for Jamaica.
Though hitting Bermuda 4-0 and Grenada 6-1 in their two games, the Girlz had looked well below their best, a situation highlighted by the Dominican Republic’s superior results after.
In addition to Friday’s 1-0 win over Bermuda, the Dominican Republic also smashed Grenada 9-0 and the Cayman Islands 4-0.
Any other result than a loss to the Dominican Republic would secure the Reggae Girlz qualification to the final phase where all six group winners will join the US and Canada, the two seeded teams from the region who received byes to the final phase.
The Jamaicans are expected back in Jamaica soon ahead of Tuesday’s encounter.
