Jaguars hunted! Haiti maul Golden Jags 6-2

By Jemima Holmes

Physically, the venue was in West Coast Demerara, Guyana; audibly it felt like Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as a group of Haitian nationals vocally overpowered hundreds of Guyanese fans at the Leonora Track and Field Facility.
Their encouragement did not go in vain, however, as the Haitian team nailed the Golden Jaguars to the cross 5-2 at the half.
It was the sort of thing you would find in horror stories: a ferocious Haitian attack, a formidable Haitian defence, and Jaguars who couldn’t roar.

The story began with the starting lineup, which saw 3 changes as compared to Guyana’s winning start against Bermuda. Goalkeeper Quillian Roberts, Leo Lovell, Matthew Briggs, Jalen shines, Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Captain Samuel Cox, Omari Glasgow, Emery Welshman, Neil Danns, Trayon Bobb and Daniel Wilson were featured on Saturday afternoon.
Torell Ondaan, Stephen Duke- McKenna and Quincy Adams were dropped, the former two reportedly due to injury, and the latter for injury concerns.
Guyana started hot, charging towards Haitian goalie Jhony Placide as early as the first minute. The fire did not last too long, as Haiti stole possession and, before anyone at Leonora could comprehend, the first goal was on the scoresheet in the 4th minute, compliments of Dany Jean.

The group of Haitian spectators, their gathering together resembling a Red Sea, boldly began to sing, the familiar songs and familiar language visibly driving the Haitian team in the 8th, ironically right into the nets again for the second goal; this time Steeven Saba was the man.
The Jaguars were being hunted, a marvel of nature, at least for the first time in this 2022-2023 CONCACAF Nations League campaign.
Trayon Bobb and Emery Welshman caught a whiff of inspiration in the 11th, and Bobb’s assist, a turning pass across the box, met Welshman square in front of the area, where he needed only to touch it in for Guyana’s first.
The Haitians were relentless in their attack; the monsters were slowly creeping out from under the bed, and Guyana’s nightmare continued.
Later, Carnejy Antoine (38th) and Derrick Etienne (41st, 43rd) secured Haiti’s third, fourth and fifth goals. Guyana’s reply came by way of Moriah-Welsh in the 44th, and though it was not resounding enough to turn the game around, the Golden Jags spectators welcomed the goal with open arms and opened mouths.
5-2 at the half, and finally the changes came.
Quincy Adams, Jeremy Garrett and Tre Mitford were substituted for Matthew Briggs, Daniel Wilson and Sam Cox at the start of the second half; and finally, Haiti’s flow stopped.
Adams’s injury worry came into question as he moved fluently along the back line, often in tandem with Jeremy Garrett, where they showed similarities to their efforts to hold Trinidad and Tobago only a few weeks ago.
Omari Glasgow and Trayvon Bobb were not to be discredited, as they traversed the wings with spirited plays, but the assistance was slow to come at the top, or erred in collecting and giving passes.
The changes in Guyana’s playing XI seemed to be the remedy they needed since the 8th minute of the encounter, since the Haitians were able to bore the nets only once more, when Fredler Cristophe brought up the sixth goal for Haiti in the 80th.
Despite the regrettable 90 minutes that the Golden Jaguars had on Saturday night, they will have a shot at redemption in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday afternoon. They will meet Haiti for their away game at the Olimpico Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo.
Haiti have now gone to the top of Group B with two wins and a draw, while Guyana are second with two wins and a loss. The game on Tuesday will ultimately be the deciding encounter on who controls Group B at the end of this leg of the Nations League.