Guyana’s Golden Jaguars U20 football side moved to the top of Group D standings after mauling the US Virgin Islands 5-1 yesterday in their Concacaf Men’s U20 Qualifiers, at the Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
Led by a hat trick from skipper Omari Glasgow, the Guyanese ran riot over their opponents with Glasgow netting in the 34th, 41st and 54th minutes to lead his team to four points from two matches following their drawn opening round encounter against The Cayman Islands on Saturday.
The other two goals came from the boots of Darron Niles, almost on the stroke of half time and Ravi Coates in the 88th minute.
Naqwan Henry was the lone goal scorer for the USVI. He netted in the 55th minute.
Fresh of their scoreless draw against the Cayman Islands on Saturday, Guyana’s starting XI comprised Joshua Naraine (GK), Devon Padmore, Jerome Harrigan, Alexander Davidson, Brandon Solomon, Kehance Scott, Darron Niles, Keenan Harper, Sealon Sue, Omari Glasgow (C) and Perry Gaul Jr.
However, for the second consecutive fixture, Guyana was reduced to 10 men as Gaul Jr., was shown a red card in the 20th minute for striking an opponent while falling down in retaliation to being fouled.
The numerical handicap didn’t seem to impede Guyana, as The US Virgin Islands lacked the quality to capitalize. It then became the Glasgow show as the Guyanese captain recorded a hat trick and two assists to seal the result.
The deadlock was broken in the 34th minute when Glasgow tucked the ball past the advancing goalkeeper into the centre of the net, after racing onto a through pass inside the penalty box.
Glasgow recorded his second in the 41st minute, racing onto a through pass before dribbling the onrushing goalkeeper and slotting his left footed effort into the empty net.
Niles then capped off the first half to push the score to 3-0 in the 45th minute. The conversion emanated from a counterattack following a corner kick with Glasgow sending a right side pass into the path of Niles, who uncorked a powerful shot from the top of the box into the left corner.
The second half started better for the US Virgin Islands, as they reduced the deficit through Henry in the 55th minute.
Awarded a penalty for a handball infringement inside the left of the box, Henry made no mistake from distance, firing a powerful shot into the top right corner.
However, Glasgow restored Guyana’s advantage two minutes later to complete a deserved hat trick, stealing the ball from final defender, before sprinting into the box and finishing into the lower left corner.
Coates then got into the scoring act in the 88th minute to complete the scoreline, the ball rebounding off the right post and into the net, after initiating a passing combination with Glasgow from outside the box.
Up to press time, the second match of the pool between Nicaragua and Cayman Islands was underway.
The Guyanese will face Nicaragua tomorrow from 7pm a match which will almost certainly determine the winner of the group.
Nicaragua are second on the points table with three wins from their defeat of the US Virgin Islands who lie last on the points table with two defeats and no points.
Third is The Cayman islands with one point from their drawn encounter with Guyana.
According to an official release from the regional confederation, “Following the conclusion of the Qualifiers, 20 teams will participate in the 2022 CMU20 Championship. This will include the top four teams from the Qualifiers and the region’s 16 top ranked men’s U-20 teams who have received a bye to the Championship.”
“At the conclusion of the Championship, the finalists (two teams) will qualify for the FIFA Men’s U-20 World Cup Indonesia 2023 and 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. The two losing semifinalists (two teams) will also guarantee their participation in the FIFA Men’s U-20 World Cup Indonesia 2023. The 2022 CMU20 Championship Group Stage will be played in the summer of 2022. Further details will be announced at a later date,” stated the release.
Guyana competed in the 2018 and 2020 versions of the event. In the 2020 version which featured a qualifying section, Guyana defeated Montserrat 6-0, SVG 3-0 and the USVI 2-0. Their only defeat came at the hands of the higher ranked hosts Nicaragua via a 1-0 score line which sealed their exit from the competition.
The 2018 tournament, which was hosted in the United States of America, did not feature a qualifying tournament. (All of the 34 entrants were guaranteed a minimum of four matches. Seven countries did not participate).
The Golden Jaguars finished the tournament with a record of one win and three losses. Guyana defeated El Salvador 2-0, but lost to Guatemala (0-4), Cayman Islands (2-3), and Curaçao (3-4).
