Jamaica’s young Reggae Girlz revived their chances of progressing to the next phase of the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship with a 3-0 win over Cuba in their second Group H contest at Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, on Monday.

Though the overall performance again lacked finesse and proper decision-making, a brace from Kameron Simmonds (34th and 49th) and one from substitute Christina Salmon (81st) was enough to hand the young Reggae Girlz the points.

The win saw them provisionally assuming pole position on three points, same as Haiti and Guatemala — who were scheduled to meet in the late contest — but with a slightly better goal difference.

This means the Jamaicans are on the verge of securing one off three spots from the group, but will need to better Haiti in their final group game on Wednesday, if they are to finish at the summit.

Finishing tops in Group H would see the young Reggae Girlz drawing a widely perceived lesser opponent in Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curacao, or Suriname for the round of 16, which, much like the quarterfinals and semi-finals, is a single match direct elimination.

The two finalists and third-placed finisher will join host nation Costa Rica as Concacaf representatives at the World Cup scheduled for August 10-28.

With Cuba offering very little resistance, the Jamaicans, who looked slightly better in terms of their cohesion, dominated proceedings from start to finish and could have won by an even wider margin with a little more composure and know-how, particularly in the final third.

After squandering numerous chances, they inevitably opened the scoring four minutes past the half-hour mark when Davia Richards broke down the right channel and picked out Simmonds, who got away from a defender and fired home a right-footer from deep inside the 18-yard box.

That turned out to be the lone goal of the half as the young Reggae Girlz failed to capitalise on their opportunities. They also had to survive a scare after goalkeeper Liya Brooks’s blunder almost gifted the Cubans a goal.

However, the Jamaicans doubled the lead four minutes into the resumption when Richards slipped by two defenders and provided a weigthted cross, which was expertly headed home by Simmonds, leaving Elika Acea in goal for Cuba as a mere spectator.

With their poor finishing again being a problem, the Jamaicans struggled to extend the lead until the 81st, when Salmon pounded on a loose ball and fired a soft right-footed effort which easily rolled past a hapless Acea diving to her right.

Nevillegail Able should have added to the tally when Anabel Moore’s corner fell kindly at her feet, but the shot went straight at Acea.

Another defensive error opened the door for Cuba to pull one back, but Ainachy Montalvo’s tame effort was no problem for Brooks.

The Jamaicans continued to create scoring opportunities in the latter stages of the game, but again lacked composure in front of goal, especially Able, who had two clear-cut chances, which she hit over the crossbar on both occasions.

The Girlz were able to get the three points without injured Captain Peyton McNamara.