SANJAY MYERS in Guyana for the U-20 CFU QUALIFIERS
Thursday, October 07, 2010
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PROVIDENCE, Guyana — A hat-trick from debutant Craig Foster and a brace from midfielder Neco Brett helped Jamaica to a 6-1 drubbing of 10-man Grenada in yesterday's opening Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Group C encounter at the Guyana National Stadium.
Foster scored in the first, 40th and 75th minutes, while Brett notched goals in the 45th and 77th. Forward Allan Ottey got the other goal for the Young Boyz in the 61st.
FOSTER... notched treble for Young Boyz on debut
[Hide Description] FOSTER... notched treble for Young Boyz on debut
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Kamal Samuel got Grenada's lone goal in the 32nd minute.
Jamaica's coach Wendell Downswell conceded that the team was not at its sharpest, but added that it was pleasing to have hit the net six times.
"I will consider it as a workmanlike performance from the team; not the most classic performance, but I do believe that come the next game you're going to see a much improved showing.
"I'm still fairly satisfied because we scored six goals and based on the ability of these players, they will be able to come out as the superior team in the group," he said.
Downswell also praised the performance of Foster, whose pace and movement up front troubled the Grenada defence the entire match.
"Young Craig Foster scored a hat-trick on his debut and that's a remarkable achievement. He played quite mature and he is a bright one for the future," he said.
Jamaica got off to a flying start when Foster beat goalkeeper Brian Charles from close range with just seconds on the clock.
Despite the early goal, the Jamaicans never seemed settled on the slick and slippery ground at the Providence Stadium, which is mostly used for cricket.
Grenada were able to get back into the game when Samuel took advantage of a mix-up between captain Sergio Campbell and goalkeeper Gregory McKogg to slot home a loose ball.
Just eight minutes later, however, Foster restored the lead from the penalty spot after Klinton Jones made a goal-line clearance with his hand.
Jones was also issued with the obligatory red card for the offence.
Seconds before the referee's whistle for half-time, Brett made it 3-1 after making neat exchanges with Ricardo Williams and Foster and rifling in from point blank range.
Upon the resumption Jamaica showed more composure in possession and were able to keep the Grenadines pinned into their own half.
One such moment of extended possession led to the team's fourth goal when Oneil Fisher fed a pass behind the opposition's defence for Ottey to calmly slot beneath the advancing goalkeeper.
Foster completed his hat-trick with another penalty, two minutes before Brett put the icing on the cake with a beautiful chip beyond Charles.
At press time, Guyana were leading the US Virgin Islands 2-1 at half-time in the second game of yesterday's double-header.
Jamaica — Gregory McKogg, Sergio Campbell, Jhamie Hyde, Ackeemo Palmer, Oneil Fisher, Devon Williams, Ricardo Morris (Ewan Grandison 67th), Neco Brett, Paul Wilson (Nickoy Christian 63rd), Allan Ottey (Rohan Roye 62nd), Craig Foster.
Subs not used: Kevon Farquharson, Carl Reid, Kemar Lawrence, Kemar Foster.
Booked: None.
Grenada — Brian Charles, Moron Phillip, Rickel Augustine (Alec Jones 61st), Daryl Jeffrey (Rondell Bertrand 50th), Aswad Phillip, Regie Noel, Klinton Jones, Kamal Samuel (Mickey Ganness 80th), Raymond Alleyne, Kevin Edwards, Clifton Ross.
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