TORONTO, Canada, CMC- Caribbean giants Jamaica squandered an early lead and second half chances before succumbing 3-1 to Canada in a friendly football international here Tuesday night.
A first half goal from Kemar Lawrence stunned Canada momentarily but an equalizer 60 seconds later and two second half goals sealed the match for the homeside.
The Reggae Boyz opened the scoring in the 30th minute of play after Simon Dawkins was brought down 25 yards from the goal line at the BMO field.
Lawrence’s curling left foot shot was adequate enough to elude a sprawling Milan Borjan in Canada’s goal.
However, the Canadians hit back in the 31st minute from a clever set piece when Patrice Bernier’s long corner was met with a thunderous right-foot volley by David Edgar, beyond the reach of goalkeeper André Blake.
The lively Jamar Loza created several opportunities for Jamaica after he was brought on in the second half to replace an ineffective Jermaine Anderson.
However Loza failed to convert three opportunities into goals within a seven minute span which saw him heading Lawrence’s cross past the upright, minutes later his shot from a solo run was saved by Borjan and later he was unable to finish from a tight angle after beating the goal keeper.
Canada broke the deadlock in the 67th minute through Marcel De Jong who placed a free kick into the top corner, knocking the fight out of the Reggae Boyz.
Five minutes later Jamaican custodian Blake spilled a simple shot into the path of Canadian forward Tosaint Ricketts who widened the lead to seal a disappointing night for the visitors.
The match was played in front of a sparse crowd which included former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.
