Jamaica’s Under-17 Reggae Girlz opened their CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship with a whopping 7-0 victory over Bermuda inside the Estadio Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Sunday.
Led by a brace from Maya Raghunandan, and one each from Avery Johnson, Tiny Seaton, Tyesha Nelson, Shaniel Buckley and Natoya Atkinson, Jamaica moved to second in Group F behind seeded team Canada who defeated hosts Dominican Republic 10-0 in the other group contest.
Raghunandan opened the scoring in the seventh minute when she sprinted past two defenders before placing her shot off the inside of the left upright. Buckley had provided the important assist.
It was 2-0 on 11 minutes when Johnson poked home from close range after Seaton had weaved her way inside the penalty box before unleashing a shot which was blocked by goalkeeper Samantha Davies.
Seaton made it 3-0 in the 16th minute off a Johnson assist to have Jamaica cruising at the halftime interval.
Two minutes into the second half and defender Tyesha Nelson was left unmarked at the back post to chest home a right-sided corner taken by Ancdrene Smith.
Raghunandan added another in the 65th minute when she headed home a teasing left-sided cross by Smith.
Buckley then rifled home the sixth goal from just outside the penalty box in the 78th minute, and in what was probably the goal of the game five minutes later, Atkinson exhibited silky skills to dismantle two defenders before blasting home to seal a comprehensive victory.
Jamaica will face the hosts Dominican Republic on Tuesday, before rounding out the preliminary stage against Canada on Thursday.
The Dane Chambers-coached Reggae Girlz will be vying for one of three spots in the 2022 FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup set for India this October.
Twenty teams will contest the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship, 16 of which will be divided into four groups of four, in addition to four teams which have already advanced to the Round of 16 from a pre-tournament qualifying.
The four groups are as follows:
Group E – Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama and Nicaragua.
Group F – Canada, Jamaica, Bermuda and Dominican Republic.
Group G – United States, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Grenada.
Group H – Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador and Cuba.
The four teams already qualified for the Round of 16 are Curacao, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, and Honduras.
The top three finishers from each of the four groups of four will advance to the Round of 16, where they will be joined by the already qualified four teams.
The Round of 16 through to the final will be a knockout phase played in a single match direct elimination format with the winners, runners-up and third-placed finishers gaining qualification to India.
