Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz secured top spot in their group when they held off a determined challenge from Haiti, to carve out a 3-2 victory in their final preliminary game of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Playing in Group B of League A at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain on Sunday night, Jamaica needed second half goals from Shamar Nicholson and Leon Bailey, in order to break a 1-1 half-time stalemate and take full points.
Israel-based forward Frantzdy Pierrot scored the first goal of his brace in the 15th minute to give Haiti a surprise lead before Demerai Gray continued his excellent scoring form with an 18th minute strike to level the contest.
“I’m over the moon to be fair. I would’ve been a bit more happy if I’d managed to get one of my chances,” said Jamaica’s West Ham star Michail Antonio.
“To be fair, we finished top of the league – that’s what we set out to do before the competition even started, so now we’ll find out on Tuesday who we’re going to play next and hopefully win that game and keep progressing up.”
Jamaica twice went close in the opening exchanges before an unmarked Pierrot nodded in Fabrice Picault’s cross into the middle of the box, against the run of play.
The lead lasted only three minutes, however, as Haiti’s defence failed to clear Antonio’s cross into the box, leaving Gray to score courtesy of a deflection.
Antonio fired over the bar in the 24th minute before Mechack Jérôme squandered a great chance to put Haiti ahead when he struck the crossbar with a 41st minute free kick.
Jamaica took the lead in the 57th minute when half-time substitute Nicholson converted Antonio’s right-sided cross into the area and Aston Villa winger Bailey added the third in the 66th when he escaped the off-side trap, raced on to Bobby Reid’s free kick out of midfield, and slotted past goalkeeper Jhony Placide.
There were anxieties towards the end when Pierrot out-leaped the Jamaica defence to head in a corner in the 87th but the French Caribbean side could not find the all-important equaliser despite the five minutes of stoppage.
In another League A contest, Grenada slumped to another heavy defeat, going down 4-0 to Suriname at the IR Franklin Essed Stadium in Paramaribo.
The result marked the Spice Boys’ third loss and left them bottom of Group B and with relegation from League A.
In Group A of League B, both St Lucia and St Kitts and Nevis tasted defeat. While St Lucia were beaten 2-0 by Guadeloupe at Grande-Terre, the Kittitians suffered a 1-0 loss to Sint Maarten at home in Basseterre.
(CMC)
