SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Despite a brave effort from Jamaica’s Under-22 footballers, they failed to progress to the semi-finals of the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games after a 1-1 result against Centro Caribe Sports (CCS) of Guatemala on Sunday.

Cristojaye Daley scored the lone goal for the young Jamaicans in the 50th minute before Jonathan Franco netted the equaliser for the CCS team in the 80th minute.

The Marcel “Fuzzy” Gayle-coached team, which failed to win a game in three matches, ended the competition with two points, scoring two goals while conceding eight.

“I think the guys stood out and they fought today [Sunday] but it is just unfortunate that we were poor in concentration around the back, hence we gave up a very soft goal,” said Gayle.

“It is a young squad, because we came together just a week before the competition started. The vibes among the players and the togetherness were good for a short period of time but it is just unfortunate that we could not go all the way. But, lessons learned and kudos to the guys because I thought they played well in this match,” he said.

The Jamaicans, who were coming off a 0-6 defeat to Costa Rica in their previous encounter, started Sunday’s game positively as they created several clear-cut chances in the first half against the CCS.

In fact, they should have been up by three goals at half-time but faulty finishing by Daley, Marlon Allen and Captain Ronaldo Webster worked in favour of CCS.

Daley should have scored for the junior Reggae Boyz in the 24th minute but after receiving a through pass from Brandon Cover out of the midfield, his weak shot from 10 yards went wide of the target.

Allen, who tormented the CCS team with his swift dribbling skills and clever off-the-ball movements, saw his powerful shot from point-blank sail over the crossbar.

Webster, who scored for Jamaica in their opening 1-1 draw game against Honduras, failed to add to his tally in the competition, after he also fired wide of the target from 18 yards.

The Jamaicans were finally rewarded five minutes into the second half when Daley arrived in the centre of the box to head home a well-placed cross from Tyler Roberts.

However, the CCS team quickly regrouped and dominated the remainder of the second period. Franco pulled them level when he arrived at the back post to tap in from close range after the Jamaicans had failed to clear their lines.