The Lady Jaguars snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to be eliminated from the Concacaf W Championship, conceding a 90th+1 minute goal to draw 2-2 in a must-win encounter against hosts Trinidad and Tobago last evening at Dwight Yorke Stadium.
Leading 2-1 in the dying moments of the group-F encounter, a goalkeeping error coupled with poor defending, allowed Lauryn Hutchinson to snatch the equalizer, after it seemed that the home side was destined for defeat.
A tame cross from the right side was badly misjudged by the onrushing goalkeeper Chante Sandiford, and the shot struck the crossbar and fell into the path of Hutchinson, who stabbed her effort into the back of the net from inside the six-yard box to seal Guyana’s exit.
With the outcome, Guyana ended their campaign in second place on eight points following a record of two wins [4-0 Dominica, 7-0 Turks and Caicos], and as many draws [0-0 Nicaragua]. Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago finished atop the standings on 10 points with a record of three wins and a draw.
Prior to the dramatic conclusion, Guyana whose starting XI comprised Sandiford (GK), Kayla DeSouza, Sydney Cummings, Ghilene Joseph, Justine Rodrigues, Annalisa Vincent, Otesha Charles, Briana DeSouza, Calaigh Copland, Stefani Kouzas and Brianne Desa, took the lead in the 45th minute.
Central defender Cummings made her presence felt in a match which could be described as untidy following several stray passes and errant challenges especially by the home side.
Cummings stabbed home into the lower right corner, following an initial cross into the box from a free-kick that sparked a goalmouth scramble, after the onrushing goalkeeper miscalculated the flight of the ball.
Guyana’s lead proved short-lived as Asha James, following a clumsy challenge inside the area on Maria Frances-Serrant, converted the penalty kick into the lower left corner in the 48th minute for the host nation to kick-start the second half.
The woodwork then denied the Trinidadians in the 66th minute after Frances-Serrant uncorked a right footed effort from inside the right of the box, which crashed onto the crossbar. A goalkeeping error gifted Guyana the unexpected lead in the 82nd minute as Cummings completed her double.
Kimika Forbes was the culprit of the egregious blunder as a tame flat free-kick from 28 yards out in the centre of the field from the towering defender, inexplicably rolled through her legs unchallenged and settled into the left corner, setting up the fixture’s unexpected end.
In terms of the statistics, Trinidad and Tobago recorded 21 shots, unfortunately, only two were on target, after tallying 280 passes at a conversion of 64%. This was achieved owing to a possession rate of 52%. The hosts also amassed six corner kicks.
The visitors recorded eight shots of which four were on target. The Guyanese also registered 271 passes at a conversion rate of 59%. Guyana accumulated one corner kick.
