A late own goal set back Jamaica who held on to draw 1-1 with hosts Suriname in their CONCACAF Nations League match which was full of exciting end-to-end play right from the start on Saturday.
At the Franklin Essed Stadium, the Jamaicans appeared under siege until Junior Flemmings made a nifty turn and finished from near the penalty spot to put the visitors ahead in the 39th minute, a lead which they carried into halftime.
The Jamaicans again absorbed the pressure in the second half and looked more comfortable as the match wore on.
Just when it looked like they were going to leave with a win, a corner kick found its way into their goal from a deflection from their goalkeeper Amal Knight after a clash with teammate Kenroy Campbell.
Meanwhile, Omari Glasgow and Nelson Bonilla scored braces, and Guyana and El Salvador got impressive, morale-boosting wins also on Saturday.
Glasgow struck twice in the span of 10 minutes in the second half, as Guyana overturned an early deficit to beat Montserrat 2-1 in the Dominican Republic and take the top spot in Group B of League B.
Bonilla scored twice in the first half and El Salvador beat Grenada 3-1 in El Salvador to get off to a bright start in Group D of League A.
In Saturday’s other match, the goalkeepers on either side had the final say, and home team Bermuda played to a goalless draw with Haiti.
At the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium, Montserrat got the opening goal of the contest in the 21st minute that began off a Craig Braham cross, from left to right, for Dean Mason to place
the ball into the box for an incoming Alex Dyer.
A pass back into the centre of the box from Dyer found Adrian Clifton and he struck it near the penalty marker for the goal that separated the two sides at half-time.
Both teams came out a bit more polished for the start of the second half and missed early attempts, but the Guyanese broke through in the 61st minute thanks to a set-piece, with Glasgow, 18, equalising with a precise free-kick.
Glasgow doubled his tally after a couple of touches inside the box, converting on a set-up from Tre Mitford to give the Guyanese a lead they held until the final whistle.
The Golden Arrows are the only team from the pack to win their first match following a draw between Bermuda and Haiti last Friday.
At the Cuscutlan Stadium, barely 100 seconds had ticked off the clock when a cross from Bryan Tamacas took the slightest of glances off the head of Enrico Duenas, enabling Bonilla to swoop in and stab home a shot to give El Salvador the lead.
The joy for the hosts was short-lived, however, and three minutes later, Alexander McQueen equalised for Grenada when he finished off a nice bit of play with a rocket into the back of the nets.
The Grenadians soaked up plenty of pressure during the remainder of the half before Bonilla received a clever touch pass from Alexander Larin and finished from the slimmest of angles in the 43rd minute to hand the hosts a 2-1 lead at half-time.
The Spice Boyz continued to feel the pressure in the second half, and defender Arthur Paterson turned a deep cross from El Salvador’s Dennis Pineda into his side’s net to stretch the lead for the home team, as they calmly saw things out in the final half-hour.
At the National Sports Centre, goalkeepers Dale Eve of Bermuda and Alexandre Pierre of Haiti were kept busy, but neither side could break them down enough to find the back of the nets.
It was the first draw for the Bermudians in five matches and the fourth for the Haitians in the same number of matches.
(CMC)
