Guyana’s Lady Jaguars football team scored a comfortable victory over Suriname in the first round of the World Cup Qualifiers when they went head to head at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Ground, yesterday.
Guyana will now look to win Group `A’ when they face off with St. Vincent and the Grenadines tomorrow at the same venue from at 3pm.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines lost to Suriname 0-1 in Wednesday’s opening fixture. Yesterday the Suriname team went under 0-2 by the home team in an encounter that the locals dominated through ball possession, unified playing and fitness. It was evident that Guyana was the better team on the day as they created numerous effective plays that got them near goal and opened opportunities to strike. They also defended resolutely that made the opposition weary. Brittany Persaud scored Guyana’s first goal in the 19th minute and Alison Heydorn accounted for the other goal in the 47th minute. The first half saw the Lady Jags commanding ball possession from the first whistle and hitting accurate passes.
Their operation as a unit and communication throughout the game was remarkable and they also displayed good positioning by often overlapping the defenders and attacking the flanks relentlessly.
Guyana’s first goal came from a terrific finish from Persaud who received a high lob from the right flank. The ball sailed over two defenders and Persaud in 18-yard box, sent a volley which rocketed past goalkeeper Nathalie Benjamin.
The remainder of the half was much of the same but Guyana were not able to extend the lead. Suriname, on the other hand, struggled offensively by not getting the ball forward because the passes were not accurate at times. Support for the forwards was in short supply while defensively they struggled because of what seemed a lack of fitness. Guyana’s custodian Ronette Cort had a good game between the uprights as she was cheered on by the hundreds of local supporters with every save she made when she came under fire. After the 15-minute break, the Lady Jags came out firing to push themselves ahead by two goals two minutes into the half when Heydorn went head on with the rushing goalkeeper and lobbed it over her head and into the back of the net.
Guyana should have scored more goals because of the well put together plays but when it came to the final touch they were either slightly off or it was Benjamin performing efficiently between the uprights.
