Guyana’s Senior Men’s National Football Team, the Golden Jaguars, ended their FIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifiers on a disappointing note, as they failed to score a single goal in a 2-0 encounter against ‘The Blue Hurricane’ Puerto Rico on Tuesday afternoon.
For this final fixture, Head Coach Marcio Maximo gave Osafa Simpson the nod for a first half start, while Stephen Duke-Mckenna, Keanu March-Brown, Omari Glasgow, Daniel Wilson and Job Caesar floated between middle and forward positions. The defense was the same as Liam Gordon, Matthew Briggs, Terence Vancooten, while Miguel Scarlett held the back line. Kai McKenzie-Lyle was the man with the gloves once again.
Tuesday’s starting lineup
The Golden Jaguars opted for a peculiar string of plays in the first 5 minutes of the encounter, allowing Puerto Rico to command possession.
Guyana’s lackluster approach finally got the better of them when McKenzie-Lyle failed to hold on to an attempt by the Number 7-clad Puerto Rican player.
Oblivious to the action in front of them, Wilfredo Rivera capitalised on the loose ball, tucking it in for Puerto Rico’s first goal in the 12th minute.
It was as though the goal was a wakeup call for Guyana’s packed midfield, as they automatically tightened up their plays. However, Puerto Rico had a remedy for this, traversing the wings frequently to get their plays executed.
The Golden Jaguars in action against Puerto Rico
Stephen Duke-Mckenna especially stepped up to the plate, even hanging back in the defense positions to ward off Puerto Rico. In the meanwhile, Liam Gordon showed glimpses of Guyana’s first chance at the goal, taking a shot from the corner of the box that was scooped up by the opposing goalkeeper.
As the time moved into the 20’s Puerto Rico once again became antsy with anticipation as they edged closer to the goal. Their chance eventually came in the 25th, as Miguel Scarlett trailed a Puerto Rican player in the box.
A soft push on his opponent followed by an innocent raise of hands from Scarlett was all it took for the referee to call a foul inside the box, making way for a penalty.
The chance was taken by Isaac Angking, who made no mistake, unlike Guyana’s keeper Mckenzie-Lyle, who dived in the opposite direction of the ball’s course.
Two forward attempts by Osafa Simpson in the space of two minutes revealed the urgency that now flowed between the Guyanese players. In Simpson’s attempts, one was cleared by a Puerto Rican defender and the other was held tightly by the goalkeeper. But these plays may have been irrational in the eyes of the Coach Maximo, as Simpson became the first substitute of the game, in the 31st. his exit made way for Nathan Moriah-Welsh’s entry.
Another chance came for Guyana in the 45th, a freekick just metres outside the box. However, the shot from Omari Glasgow went well over the crossbar for a wasted opportunity.
The beginning of the second half saw a recovery from their lackadaisical start for Guyana. Job Caesar was soon substituted by Javier George. As Guyana continued in their attempts to stifle Puerto Rico, they appeared to be a better functioning unit in the second segment.
Another freekick opportunity came and went unyielded in the 55th, just before Duke- Mckenna put on a one man show in the middle as he edged closer to his target. However, it went awry in the finishing phases.
The next substitution came in the 65th, as Marcus Wilson got his first run as a Senior Men’s Player for Guyana in place of Daniel Wilson. Also entering the game was Kelsey Benjamin, as Glasgow headed for the bench.
While Guyana focused on preventing Puerto Rico from registering a hattrick of goals, their possession went up, but it did nothing for their goalscoring.
The time eventually expired quietly, as both teams failed to connect with the back of the net.
Although the win granted Puerto Rico another 3 points, it would not affect the outcome of the Group, as St Kitts and Nevis have already secured enough points to be the only team to advance to the next round.
Guyana will now focus on their CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification process, for which they will play Guatemala on July 3.
