The Guyana men’s national team thrashed Panama en route to the top of the men’s point standings on day four of the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games qualifiers in Jamaica while the women dispatched Bermuda to stay in contention for a spot at CAC.
Aroydy Branford
The Guyanese men made light work of the Panama side, hitting nine goals past them while keeping a clean sheet.
Aroydy Branford was the star of the show, grabbing a helmet-trick; he received valuable support from Captain Robert France and Jamarj Assanah who notched up a brace each while Jael Gaskin had a single goal.
Branford opened the scoring for Guyana in the ninth minute when he dispatched a direct penalty before grabbing a second goal in the 18th minute. Just before halftime, Assanah powered home a field goal before France made it 4-0 on the stroke of the break.
Jamarj Assanah scored twice for Guyana against Panama (Jevon Williams photos)
Upon resumption of play, Branford added his third field goal in the 38th minute before Assanah grabbed his second 10 minutes later. The dangerous Branford had his fourth in the very next minute before France and Gaskin scored two more for the Guyanese in the closing minutes of the game.
The Guyanese men now have nine points from three games and are top of the table with a goal difference of 16 while Jamaica are second on six points after two games.
Earlier in the day, the Guyanese ladies beat Bermuda comfortably by three goals to nil as they stayed on course for a spot in Barranquilla, Colombia next year at the CAC Games.
Upon completion of the first half, the game looked like it would remain locked at 0-0, but goals from Gabriella Xavier, Marzana Fiedtkou and Kerensa Fernandes in the second half ensured that Guyana took maximum points to remain in the top two brackets.
Marzana Fiedtkou scored during Guyana’s game against Bermuda
Xavier opened the scoring in the 38th minute while Fiedtkou’s and Fernandes’ goals came in the 41st and 46th minutes respectively.
After four games, Guyana are second on eight points while Jamaica lead with 10 points from their four games.
In the other women’s fixtures, Guatemala needled Panama while Jamaica beat Puerto Rico 2-0.
Meanwhile, up to press time, Jamaica and Guatemala were set to play; the result of that game will be published in a subsequent article.
