The Lady Jaguars Friday night defeated St Lucia 2-0 at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora in their CONCACAF Women’s U20 championships to seal a place in the next round.
The clash, a meeting of the two undefeated sides, saw Guyana winning that matchup in front of a sizable viewership.
Local star Tiandi Smith and Nailah Rowe recorded goals in the 19th and 73rd minute respectively to secure Guyana’s third consecutive win, following identical results against Bermuda and Antigua and Barbuda.
The Lady Jaguars will end their campaign against Suriname today at 16:00hrs at the same venue.
Guyana’s starting XI took a familiar look with Anessa O’Brien (GK), Rylee Traicoff, Jessica Myers, Brianne Desa, Jade Vuyfhuis, Smith, Rowe, Serena McDonald, Aubrey Narine, Kiana Khedoo and Jenna Knight.
It did not take long for the hosts to grab the lead, as local girl Smith made her presence felt in the 19th minute.
The conversion produced the loudest cheers of the night from the supportive viewership after Smith raced onto a lobbed pass before slotting her effort past the advancing Renala Francis into the lower left corner.
The goal saw Smith becoming the only local player to find the back of the net. The score would remain unchanged heading into the halftime interval.
Upon resumption, the lanky Smith almost fashioned her second goal in the 62nd minute. The right foot effort seemed destined for the lower right corner, but her attempt was denied by the outstretched hand of Francis.
Guyana eventually scored again 17 minutes from the end with Rowe finishing off a brilliantly worked goal, latching onto a perfectly placed through pass from McDonald inside the right of the box before rifling her effort into the lower left corner.
Meanwhile, Suriname dismantled Antigua and Barbuda 5-0 to claim their first win. The top two teams from the group will advance to the second round of the event.
