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Under-17 Boyz progress
February 17, 2023
Jamaica may have secured their passage to the round of 16 of the Concacaf Under-17 Championship, but they let a significant opportunity slip following a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica in their final group game at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala last night.
Alexavier Gooden opened the scoring in the 18th minute, while second-half substitute Adrian Reid added another in the 62nd as the young Reggae Boyz seemingly were on course for a win. Roy Bustos in the 78th minute and Sean Albrighton in the 87th, however, completed the comeback for Costa Rica after Jamaica went down to 10 men for the second game in a row, a collapse that extinguished their chances of winning the group.
With Cuba defeating Guadeloupe 4-0 earlier in the day, either a win, a draw or avoiding a heavy defeat would have been enough to send Jamaica through the knockout stage, an opportunity they did not capitalise on in Tuesday's second Group C game against Guadeloupe.
Gooden was given his first start of the tournament in place of Nashron Bolt-Barrett, who was sent off in their 2-1 defeat to Guadeloupe on Tuesday, a game that Gooden also featured as a second-half substitute.
The Jamaicans tested the Costa Ricans early in the first half, with Jahmani Bell questioning Costa Rica's goalkeeper Emmanuel Garta.
Gooden, coming off a strong season with Manning Cup finalists St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), made his presence felt in the first half, giving the young Reggae Boyz the lead with a brilliant free kick, which gave Garta no chance.
Jamaica almost made it 2-0 in the 34th minute when Ashton Gordon picked the pocket of a Costa Rican defender but could not find the target.
Costa Rica, who had already secured their place in the second round, applied early pressure to the Jamaicans in the second half but lacked the cutting edge in the final third.
The tide turned for Jamaica in the 62nd minute when Reid got on the end of a corner kick to increase their lead and vault them temporarily to the top of the group.
Jamaica needed to survive a 15-minute onslaught by Costa Rica after Gooden was sent off for a second yellow card for an intentional handball.
Similar to the Guadeloupe game, the young Reggae Boyz failed to hold on to their advantage, with Bustos cutting the lead in the 78th minute and then Albrighton's close-range finish three minutes from time, completing the comeback for Costa Rica to secure the top spot in Group C. Jamaica finished the group in second place with four points.
Jamaica will face hosts Guatemala in the knockout stage tomorrow.
