Guyana’s preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup Preliminaries on June 17th suffered a setback on Saturday evening as the international friendly against Martinique was abandoned in the second half after a fight erupted between opposing players.
This was confirmed by a source close to the team who spoke on the condition of anonymity. According to the source, the episode transpired between Golden Jaguars international Kelsey Benjamin and a Martinique player.
“The Martinique player placed his hands around the neck of Benjamin following a challenge. Benjamin immediately retaliated and a scuffle ensued which brought a halt to the encounter. Both benches were cleared as they attempted to defuse the situation. The fixture was unable to resume and was subsequently abandoned,” said the source.
At the time of the unfortunate incident which occurred approximately 20 minutes into the second half, Martinique was ahead 1-0 compliments of a first half conversion in the 43rd minute. Guyana conceded following a misplaced pass while resulted in a counterattack that led to the aforementioned goal.
Guyana’s starting XI for the fixture comprised Kai McKenzie-Lyle, Jalen Jones, Samuel Cox, Jeremy Garrett, Liam Gordon, Neil Danns, Elliott Bonds, Kadell Daniels, Trayon Bobb, Emery Welshman and Deon Moore.
The fixture was Guyana’s only international friendly before their campaign opener against Grenada on Saturday, June 17th at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If successful, the Golden Jaguars will play the winner of the Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago fixture for a place in the Gold Cup.
The Golden Jaguars qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup Prelims following a runner-up finish in group C of League B in the 2022/20223 edition of the Nations League.
