It was dream return for Gregory Richardson to the national setup as he fired Guyana to a 2-0 win over Suriname in their International Friendly fixture at the National Stadium in Providence last night.
Donning the captain’s armband following his return from exile since 2012, Richardson found the back of the net in the 19th and 74th minutes to settle what was the 27th meeting of the nations in front of a small gathering. The victory was Guyana’s first in their last four matches.
With the last competitive fixture ending 1-0 in favour of the Dutch in 2015, the Jaguars starting line-up consisted of Alex Murray, Solomon Austin, Kester Jacobs, Quincy Adams, Joshua Browne, Eon Alleyne, Travis Grant, Colin Nelson, Dwight Peters, Vurlon Mills and Richardson.
It what can be described as an inexperienced team featuring mostly U23 players, the visitors started the matchup immediately on the back foot and almost conceded with Richardson being denied with only 50 seconds on the clock inside the right of the area.
Centre half Austin was next to threaten for the home side in their first international engagement of the year, directing his header from the centre of the box, wide of the right corner following a corner kick in the 12th minute.
The constant pressure of the home side was eventually rewarded six minutes later as Richardson grabbed the opener, slotting home into the lower left corner after collecting a left side pass unchallenged within the centre of the box, bringing the crowd to its feet.
On the other side, the youthful unit simply struggled under the pressure of the home side. Such was the gap between the two units that the Surinamese failed to register a strike on target.
The Guyanese continued to fashion chances and almost doubled their lead in the 31st minute but Jacobs glanced his shot wide of the right corner after collecting a left sided corner kick within the centre of the box.
Richardson continued to be a thorn in the side of the opposition and nearly doubled his tally, racing away into the box before unleashing a powerful shot which was deflected by the leg of the final defender
Veteran midfielder Grant almost etched his name on the scorer’s sheet in the 43rd minute, lashing his effort over the crossbar from within the box after collecting a flat right sided cross as the Guyanese ended the period in firm control.
While the matchup improved for the visitors in the second period, it was Guyanese that crafted the better chances.
Continuing from where he left off, Richardson should have doubled Guyana’s lead in the 52nd minute, racing into the centre of the box after fighting off the challenge of his marker, only to shoot his attempt straight at the onrushing keeper.
The woodwork then came to the rescue of Suriname in the 64th minute as Daniel Wilson upon entering the fixture for Mills, unleashed a thunderous strike from 24 yards out in the centre which crashed into the crossbar.
On the other end, the visitors recorded their first shot on target one minute later as Evani Esperance was denied from within the right side of the area.
Roxey Fer also threatened for the visitors in the 70th minute, spinning away from his marker within the right of the box, before firing his effort straight at the keeper, after a poor attempt at a lobbed pass was intercepted and played into his path.
Nonetheless, the fixture ended as it began with Richardson making his presence felt four minutes later, directing his first time effort into the lower left corner, after latching onto a flat cross from the right side which evaded the entire backline fell into his onrushing path.
Making substitute appearances in the match were Konata Manning, Devon Millington, Trayon Bobb, Dwayne Lindie and Delon Lanferman for Grant, Alleyne, Mills, Nelson, Richardson and Peters respectively.
Meanwhile meeting the teams prior to kick off were GFF President Wayne Forde, GFF Vice President Bruce Lovell, Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous People Affairs Valarie Garrido-Lowe, Banks Beer Brand Manager Brian Cho-Hen and Director of Sports Christopher Jones among others.
Similarly, a minute of silence was witnessed for former Golden Jaguar Julian Moore. Prior to the commencement of the matchup, the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) All-Stars defeated the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) All-Stars 2-1.
Guyana will now turn their attention to the CFU Championships after being drawn in Group-5. The event is slated to kick off during the period of March-21st-29th, with the Golden Jaguars being paired with Puerto Rico and Anguilla.
