Jamaica missed out on a chance to reach the Under-20 men’s Fifa World Cup after losing 0-1 to Dominican Republic in the Concacaf Championship quarter-final match at the Olimpico Metropolitano stadium in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Wednesday.

Angel Montes De Oca scored the game’s only goal in the 10th minute to send Dominican Republic to their first-ever Under-20 World Cup.

Jamaica, whose only qualification for the Under-20 showpiece came in 2001, were left deflated at the end, but it was a deserved win for Dominican Republic, the superior team on the day.

It was one-way traffic in the early part of the game as Dominican Republic established dominance in ball possession and composed attacking build-ups.

And it didn’t take long for them to power ahead.

De Oca got on the end of a straightforward throw-in and poked the ball around Jamaica defender Luke Badley, who was far too tentative in his approach. The Dominican Republic attacker, who scored twice in the 5-4 win over El Salvador in the round-of-16 stage, displayed fine composure to boot a half volley past Jamaica goalkeeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke.

The exhibition of short passes and patient build-ups from the Dominican Republic outfit continued for most of the first half.

The Marcel Gayle-coached Jamaicans, who hardly had a sniff of the ball, were left to use mostly longer passes. However, they eventually started to pin back Dominican Republic mostly through a series of set pieces.

Dominican Republic kept plugging away, and thought they had gone two goals to the good when Edison Azcona beat Boyce-Clarke. But the Reggae Boyz got a reprieve when the video assistant referee ruled there was an offside in the build-up.

The second half played out in similar fashion to the first, but Jamaica, who edged nine-man Haiti 2-1 in the tournament’s round of 16, remained a threat as they poured forward in hopes of an equaliser.

Jamaica’s second-half substitute Devonte Campbell shot straight at Dominican Republic’s goalkeeper Xavier Valdez near the 75th-minute mark.

In the end, Dominican Republic, who had a few chances at goal themselves, held on in the nervy final minutes to book their place.

— Sanjay Myers