KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica has taken charge of their Concacaf Under-20 World Cup qualifying Group F after beating Grenada 2-0 at the St Kitts Technical Centre on Monday, scoring back-to-back wins and a six-point lead.

After beating Martinique 1-0 in Saturday’s opening game, the Jamaicans now need only a point from their game against Bermuda to advance to the next round.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Martinique defeated Bermuda 2-1. Both are now on three points while Grenada are out of contention after losing both games played so far.

Nick Simmonds and Ronaldo Barrett scored their first goals for Jamaica at the Under-20 level in the win, but Jamaica finished the game with 10 players after Makai Welch was sent off in the 79th minute after he was shown a second yellow card.

Simmonds headed home a cross from the left side in the 30th minute while Barrett’s long-range chip flew over the head of the Grenadian goalkeeper in the 82nd minute after a swift counterattack.

Monday’s win was the first back-to-back for Jamaica in the Concacaf U-20 Qualifying since 2022 and the first back-to-back ‘clean sheets’ since 2018.

-Paul A Reid