Guyana U-17 Women seal spot in CONCACAF Championship

Honduras, Cayman Islands, Belize and Guyana have all punched tickets to the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship, after finishing atop their respective groups in last week’s 2019 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship Qualifying matches.

Matched with Saint Lucia, Bonaire and Anguilla in Group ‘A’, Honduras marched to a first-place finish with a 3W-0D-0L, 17GF-0GC record at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
The Truman Bodden Sports Complex in George Town, Cayman Islands was the site of Group ‘B’ action wherein hosts Cayman Islands took top spot with a 2W-1D-0L, 16GF-3GC record, finishing ahead of Martinique, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica.
While the Cayman Islands and Martinique each finished with seven points, Cayman Islands’ superior goal difference (+13 to +7) proved the difference.
Goal difference also factored into the winner of Group ‘C’ at the Wildey Astro Turf Stadium in Wildey, Barbados, with Belize claiming first place with a 2W-1D-0L, 10GF-4GC record compared to second-place Barbados, who finished 2W-1D-0L, 3GF-1GC.
Rounding out the group was Saint Kitts and Nevis and U.S. Virgin Islands.
There was no need for a tiebreaker in Group ‘D’, as Guyana completed a perfect 3W-0D-0L, 11GF-4GC record over Bahamas, Curacao and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at the Stadion Ergilio Hato in Willemstad, Curacao.
Areka Hooper (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Rachell Rolle (Bahamas) and Jalade Trim of Guyana netted three goals each.
The CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship is scheduled to be played from March 21 to April 5th, 2020. The top 3 teams of the Championship will qualify to participate in the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India from September 21 to October 4th.
Meanwhile, Head Coach of the Female U17 Team, Akilah Castello, was very pleased with the ladies’ achievement. Speaking on their ability to move on to the next round, she disclosed that a win against the Bahamas was of utmost importance.
“Going up against the Bahamas in our final match was considered one of our most important games, since we had to win in order to move on to the next round of this U17 competition. The coaching staff would’ve had the chance to see them play in their matchup against St. Vincent, and was able to come up with a game plan to come out on top. Our girls were very receptive and were able to follow the plan set out by the coaching staff, and they executed very well,” Castello revealed.
“The Bahamians came out very strong in the second half after being down two, and scored an early second-half goal, but our girls kept their composure and continued the high pressure, which resulted in a third goal for Guyana to seal the top spot in the group,” she said.
The head Coach went on to explain how Guyana fought to secure their qualification spot. Guyana defeated the Bahamas 3-1, thanks to goals from Jalade Trim (7, 29) and Jaida Brooks (70).
In their opening match of the competition, the Guyanese girls overcame Curacao 2-1. Shanic Thornhill (8, 74) was the lone goal-scorer in that encounter for Guyana.
However, the largest win the Guyanese girls enjoyed came against St. Vincent & The Grenadines in their second encounter. Samantha Banfield netted a brace; while Alleia Alleyne, Shamya Daniels, Jaida Brooks and Jalade Trim each netted one goal for the 6-2 victory.