A 25th minute strike by Lethem-based forward Franklyn Parks failed to save Guyana’s Junior Golden Jaguars from a 3-1 defeat at the hands of nemesis Suriname in their opening match of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) World Cup qualification tournament in Trinidad and Tobago yesterday in Trinidad and Tobago.
Suriname scored in the 17th but Parks found the back of the net in the 25th minute to give Guyana hope as the scores remained tied 1-1 at half time. However, Suriname stuck twice in the latter part of the second half with goals in the 77th and 84th minutes of play.
Guyana, Suriname, British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Trinidad and Tobago are competing in the Group tie which started yesterday and ends on Saturday in Port-of-Spain.
Host Trinidad and Tobago were also in action against BVI yesterday but no score was available. Guyana will next meet BVI tomorrow while Trinidad and Tobago will battle Suriname. The Guyanese will clash with Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday while BVI and Suriname will square off. The Group winner will advance to the next round of the CFU qualifying competition. The final round of CFU qualifiers will include the five qualifying group winners, as well as the top second-place team. The top three teams from the qualifiers will advance to the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship, which will be held in Panama early next year. The top three teams from the Panama play-off will qualify for the Under-17 World Cup Finals, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates in summer next year.
