CATHERINE HALL, St James — Jamaica’s build-up to next month’ CONCACAF World Cup qualifying campaign started with a lacklustre 1-0 win over Guyana in a friendly international at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Friday night.
Harbour View’s Jeremie Lynch, a last-minute decision by the coaching staff and one of three players making their debuts, made a dream bow when he scored the winner in the 61st minute in front of a fair-sized crowd.
Dino Williams had been named to partner team captain Luton Shelton in a release sent out by the Jamaica Football Federation earlier in the day, but it was the 21-year-old Harbour View player who got the nod later in the day.
Defenders Nyron Nosworthy and Adrian Mariappa, teammates at Watford in the English Championships, were the other debutants.
This was the fourth straight win for Jamaica over Guyana after 2-1, 6-0 and 4-0 results and extended Jamaica’s unbeaten run this year to five.
On a slippery field, Jamaica missed a number of chances after a slow start, but head coach Theodore Whitmore told the Jamaica Observer he thought the team gave a creditable performance and he would have given them seven out of 10.
“It was a decent performance… taking into consideration three players were making their debut…,” Whitmore said.
Guyana, who knocked out Trinidad and Tobago out of contention, also had several chances, hitting the bar late in the second half, but Whitmore said he was not surprised by what they had to offer.
“We have played against them in the Digicel Cup and we know what they can do,” he said.
“They are preparing for a tough opening encounter against Mexico, so we know playing against a Caribbean team would be tough… it gives us a good preparation as they play a similar game to the Antiguans,” Whitmore said.
Jamaica will face Guatemala, United States and Antigua and Barbuda in Group A of the third round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The Reggae Boyz dominated and created a number of chances, but saw Lynch, Shelton and Keammar Daley miss repeatedly.
After a slow start, they had the first chance in the 22nd when a cross from Lynch hit the Guyanese goalkeeper Richards Reynolds in his chest and rebounded inches past his left post and out for a corner.
Nine minutes later, Shelton got past the goalkeeper but instead of shooting at goal from just outside the six yards box, opted to pass back to the top of the 18 yards box where the ball was picked off by a defender.
Guyana’s only chance in the first half came in the 36th minute when a mix up in the defence gave Carl Cort and shot at goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett’s goal.
Stevens who had come on for Joel Senior five minutes earlier in the 54th minute, picked off a weal back pass from Brandon Beresford and after beating the sliding Reynolds, passed the ball to Lynch who spun and fired it low into the far left hand corner of the goal.