Young Reggae Girlz defender Annabel Moore has declared that her team firmly intends to keep going during the knockout phase of the ongoing CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championship in the Dominican Republic.
Moore commented following Jamaica’s 0-0 draw with Haiti in the final game of their Group H fixture at Estadio Panamericano on Wednesday afternoon.
“I mean, we are Jamaicans, and we compete. This is everything we worked for. We have a lot of pride, and to make it to the next tournament [phase] is just building on that,” Moore said in her post-game interview.
She added: “We came here to keep going, and we intend to keep going, and we have a lot of fight and spirit in us, and it’s never unimportant.”
The 0-0 result, coupled with Guatemala’s 3-1 victory over winless Cuba, saw the Central Americans topping the group with seven points, after edged Jamaica 1-0 in the first game, and their 1-1 result with Haiti in their second game.
Haiti finished second on five points, having also edged Cuba 2-1, with Jamaica finishing in third place on four points, having blanked Cuba 3-0 in their second game.
In Wednesday’s contest, Reggae Girl Mia Mitchell blasted a 27th-minute penalty sky high, and top striker Kameron Simmonds wasted another easy opportunity after skipping by the goalkeeper outside the penalty box but placing her shot into the side netting of an unguarded goal.
And the Girlz were reduced to 10 players when Theanna Burnett was dismissed in the 41st minute after being cautioned earlier in the 11th minute.
But the numerical advantage did not deter the Reggae Girlz as they pushed forward in numbers and posed the greater threat in the second half.
For their lowly third-place finish in the preliminary phase, the Reggae Girlz have been drawn against Panama, who finished second to Mexico in their group.
That match is slated for Saturday, and Moore believes that the team has the tools to advance to the quarter-finals.
“I think we should calm down, play smart, play our game, be careful with cards [cautions] that we are on, the injuries that we have and continue to work hard, get ourselves organized, and I think we will be great.”
