A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
U-15 Boyz cruise to Concacaf U-15 League B Championship
Jamaica’s U-15 Reggae Boyz won League B of the Concacaf Under-15 Championship when they beat Puerto Rico 2-0 in the final at Stadion CD Guillermo Trinidad in Oranjestad, Aruba, on Saturday.
Goals in each half from Tevin Savage and Kelvin D Brown saw Jamaica complete a perfect record in the week-long tournament, after winning three games in the group stage and hammering Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) 6-2 in the semi-finals on Friday.
The Andrew Peart-coached team dominated the game and should have won by a wider margin despite scoring 15 goals in five matches, conceding just two.
The game was expected to be closer between two teams that boasted impressive records, as Jamaica scored seven goals in their three wins in Group D, beating Belize 2-0, Aruba 4-0, and Curacao 1-0 before beating T&T.
Puerto Rico also had a perfect record in Group C, beating Cayman Islands 3-0 in their opening game, Guyana 5-0, and Cuba 4-1 before beating Group F winners Guatemala 2-0 in their semi-final game.
Brown continued his impressive run and had a part in goals on Saturday, setting up Savage for the first and then taking the second himself.
After attracting a double team at the top of the Puerto Rico box, Brown laid off the ball to Savage who was on the right wing as his low, first-time shot beat goalkeeper Martin Perez at his near post.
Puerto Rico thought they should have been awarded a penalty in the 14th minute when Troy Montanez went down under a tackle from Mario Nelson at the edge of the Jamaican area, but Referee Damien Rosa of Martinique waved off the calls.
Puerto Rico came close to equalising in time added on in the first half but Jamaica’s goalkeeper Jaheime Gray pulled off a brilliant save, going full stretch to his right to push an excellent, curling, left-footed free kick from Luis Rodriquez for a corner.
Just over a minute after Carlondo Morris missed a wide open goal from his cross in the 70th minute, Brown rose well to head home a cross from Kyle Hussey to ensure the win.
In the first game of the double-header Trinidad took third place by beating Guatemala 1-0.
Jamaica’s U-15 Reggae Boyz celebrate a goal scored against Puerto Rico in the League B final of the Concacaf U-15 Championship in Oranjestad, Aruba, on Saturday. (Photo: Concacaf Media)
