Lady Jags go down in 2nd friendly to Puerto Rico women
Coming off a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Puerto Rican women on Wednesday last, the Lady Jags again suited up to take on their vanquishers, in a second and final international friendly on Saturday last.
While the Guyanese Women’s National Football team suffered another loss in that encounter, they managed to keep the score at 2-1, signalling a much-improved performance on the pitch.
Playing at the José Antonio Figueroa Freyre Central American Stadium, Guyana fielded a starting XI of Brianna Desa, Natalie Nedd, Annalisa Vincent, Samantha Banfield, Audrey Narine, Serena Mc Donald, Shamya Daniels, Gabriella Salvadore, Tiandi Smith, Ghilene Joseph, and Hasha Holder.
Puerto Rico started their scoring early with a goal in the second minute of the game. Charging in from well outside the 18-yard box with Guyana’s defence on her heels, Nickolette Driesse took a lucky shot and got it past the reach of Guyana’s goalkeeper, Nedd for the first goal.
The Lady Jags and staff in Puerto Rico
The Puerto Ricans had seemed to have lost the urgency they played with in the first friendly which resulted in a 1-1 score by the half.
What was supposed to be a casual pass to the goalie by a Puerto Rican defender turned out to be Guyana’s first and only strike in the 27th minute. Following the pass, Narine hustled the goalkeeper for possession of the ball and made an independent charge to the goal, in order to add one to Guyana’s tally.
In the second half, the encounter remained intense as both sides hunted a second and potentially winning goal. However, the expertise of both of the goal custodians kept the score locked.
As the minutes died away, it appeared as though Guyana would hold on for a 1-all draw, but it was the repeat of a previous mistake that cost the Lady Jags the game. In the 83rd minute , Sophia Muetterties took a shot, similar to that of the first goal, to connect with the back of the net for the win.
The friendly matches were part of a one-week encampment exercise for the Lady Jags, as they prepare for the CONCACAF Women’s Championships next year.
