A second-half strike from Daniel Johnson proved decisive and helped Jamaica to land a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in an international friendly on Tuesday.
The victory was welcomed relief for the Reggae Boyz, bringing a week of internal turmoil to a close and avenging the side’s 3-0 loss to the same opponents this past Saturday.
The Jamaicans went behind after 29 minutes, when Abdullah Al-Hamdan finished off a very good pattern of play that followed a poor defensive clearance to give the home team the lead, much to the chagrin of the visitors’ coaching staff, who claimed the player was offside.
The Boyz played with much more confidence than the first match and equalised five minutes later when striker Javon East eluded the Saudi Arabia backline and lifted the ball over the head of the netminder, Mohammed Al-Yami.
The two teams continued to exchange possession either side of half-time before England-based Johnson curled a left-footed shot into the top corner of Al-Yami’s goal in the 64th minute.
The result ended a difficult return to international play for the Jamaicans, whose coach Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore was celebrating his 100th match in charge.
The Reggae Boyz are currently ranked at 48th in the FIFA World Rankings and Saudi Arabia are 67th.
CMC
