BALTIMORE, Maryland — Giles Barnes never had to say it. It was that obvious by the bright smile on his face that he was in a higher place, and who wouldn’t want to be there, after scoring the goal that put his Reggae Boyz into the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

“At the moment I am on cloud nine, and so proud of my team, my country and hopefully we can continue,” he said, clearly ecstatic to be the hero for his team. Barnes, 26, is on a high. Still, he wants to go higher.

“We want to just go into the final and take it to a new level… going into the semi-finals with this team, my brothers, is the stuff dreams are made of,” he said.

The Houston Dynamo player struck in convincing form in the seventh minute to defeat Haiti 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the biennial tournament at the M&T Bank Stadium here on Saturday night.

The Boyz will now face the USA in the semi-final, the third such placing for Jamaica, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Wednesday. Barnes was getting his first goal for Jamaica in the tournament, breaking a drought for the strikers.

But to him, winning is more important than who scores.

“I don’t care who scores as long as I am in the semi-final or the final and win the Cup, but obviously to get on the scoresheet is good because that’s what my game has been missing.

“I think I have had a good tournament by holding the ball up, setting the guys up and working hard, so and it’s kind of a reward for me,” Barnes, the former West Bromwich Albion player, shared at game’s end.

Though Jamaica showed all round higher quality throughout the match, Barnes respected what the Haitians brought to the table as they made it difficult for his team.

“They are a good team as they moved the ball well and they have got athletic people throughout the squad… they are a good side, but again, we are a good side as well.

“We came out and showed everybody what we are capable of and we are so proud of each other right now to make the country proud by getting into the semi-finals,” said Barnes, who now has two goals in eight appearances for the Boyz. His teammate, goalkeeper Ryan Thompson, was also on Saturday night revelling in the victory.

“I am very happy and thankful for the opportunity to be out there and playing with some great players. We are ready to go out there and die for each other…

“We went out there got a chance and we executed, also we defended well as a team, and at the end of the day, we were victorious. It’s just an ecstatic feeling right now,” said the Pittsburgh Riverhounds number one.

Crystal Palace defender Adrian Mariappa is happy first and foremost that the overarching objective was met.

“At the end of the day what we wanted to do was get to the next round, but it was a very good side that played some very good football. But we defended brilliantly as a team, I thought, and I think it was good that we kept three clean sheets in a row.

“I think we created a couple of good chances where we could have nicked another goal, but in some games you end up under a lot of pressure, but to win is good,” he said.