13-0 demolition
PROVIDENCE, Guyana — Jamaica demolished the US Virgin Islands 13-0 in yesterday’s second phase Caribbean Football Union qualifying match to record back-to-back victories in Group C.
Forward Craig Foster hit his second hat-trick of the competition, while midfielder Devon Williams also scored a treble to lead the Young Boyz in front of a small crowd at the Guyana National Stadium.
Allan Ottey and Paul Wilson scored a brace each, while Neco Brett and substitutes Kevon Farquharson and Rohan Roye chipped in with a goal-a-piece.
After swamping Grenada 6-1 on Wednesday and watching the US Virgin Islands being beaten 1-5 by hosts Guyana later that evening, the Jamaicans were chomping at the bit from the first whistle.
In fact, it took just five minutes for them to find the net, when Foster side-footed home Ricardo Morris’ corner.
Three minutes later, Brett scored his third goal in two matches when he blasted in from an acute angle.
It was 3-0 in the 19th minute when Ottey tapped into an empty net after Wilson and Morris had combined to pick apart the USVI defence.
Some 11 minutes after that Ottey rose unmarked to head in a corner from Brett to push the Jamaicans goal tally to four.
Wilson got his name on the scoresheet and made the Jamaicans five goals to the good in the 35 minute when he powered in from point blank range after a series of goal line clearances from the US Virgin Island defenders.
Ottey, who along with Brett had scuffed a few easy chances in the game, missed out on a hat-trick when his penalty struck the crossbar one minute after the half-time break.
The miss seemed to spur on the Jamaicans, who bombarded the fatigued-looking US Virgin Islands unit with persistent attacks which kept them pinned into their own half.
Williams netted in the 63rd, 64th and 78th minutes, while Foster added two more in the 65th and 83rd minutes to match his personal target of scoring three goals in each match.
Farquharson scored in the 77th minute, while Roye got on the scoresheet two minutes from the end. Wilson then wrapped up the scoring in time added.
At press time in the second game of the double header Guyana had a half-time lead of 2-0 over Grenada.
Jamaica will next face Guyana tomorrow at 7:00 pm local time (6:00 pm Jamaica time) here at the National Stadium, while US Virgin Islands will seek a consolation win against Grenda when both meet on the same day in the curtainraiser.
The winners of the group will automatically qualify for the CONCACAF Championships in Guatemala next April, while the runners-up will play off for a place in that competition.