Tweet
Jamaica wins Caribbean clash with Grenada
By Vijay Setlur
CARSON, California - Ryan Johnson and Luton Shelton scored first-half goals and sparked Caribbean champion Jamaica to a 4-0 victory over Grenada in the Group B opener at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Demar Phillips and Omar Daley added second-half tallies for Jamaica, which beat its regional rival for a seventh straight time and ninth in their last 10 meetings dating back to 1997.
"We looked at this as our toughest assignment as a Caribbean team. The Grenadians played the sort of game we expected them to play," Jamaica coach Theodore Whitmore said. "They have the same team that played in the Digicel Caribbean Cup and we expected them to sit back, but once we kept the ball moving we knew it would kill them off."
The win before 21,507 at Home Depot Center was just the first Gold Cup meeting between the two and comes six months after their last encounter, a 2-1 extra time win for Jamaica in the semifinals of the Caribbean Cup.
This time, Jamaica took control early dominating play with their possession and speed.
After a relatively slow opening 16 minutes, Jamaica used its three-pronged attack of Johnson, Dane Richards and Shelton to pin Grenada back and generate 23 scoring opportunities to Grenada's two.
Despite the lopsided result, Whitmore was not satisfied.
"Not 100 percent. I think the guys could have done more tonight," Whitmore said. "I think finishing was a big letdown on our part, but they managed to score four to start a competition and what a way to start."
Grenada wanted to press Jamaica and keep the ball in front of them, but rarely executed.
"We're very disappointed. We had a game plan and we didn't stick to it," Grenada coach Michael Adams said. "We worked on pressuring the ball, denying the opposition time on the ball and from the off we weren't at the races.
"We just surrendered space, surrendered time to the opposition and at an international level you can't afford to do that. We paid the price."
The Reggae Boyz, which had focused on set plays - particularly corner kick plays - during training, capitalized in the 21st minute.
Midfielder Rodolph Austin sent a short corner into Shelton, who returned it back wide, where Austin curled a ball into the area. It dropped and Shelton ticked it with the tip of his foot to direct high over goalkeeper Shemel Louison.
Jamaica increased its lead in the 39th minute.
Shelton sent the ball wide right to Richards, who sprinted down the flank. Richards then paused and squared a low ball across the area, where Johnson streaked in and tapped it past Louison.
Jamaica's offense slowed until the final 10 minutes, when a sudden surge led to two more goals.
"When you make the pitch as big as we did, and they keep the ball as well as they did, it means we've been doing a lot of running around to keep our shape and keep our discipline. And in the end you'll get tired legs," Adams said.
"It's no secret that we have a good portion of our starters who are over 30 years old so their fatigue is going to show."
Phillips tallied on a solo effort in in the 79th and Daley added a left-footed strike from the edge of the area in the 83rd to complete the scoring.
Making just their second straight Gold Cup appearance, Grenada sought to improve on its winless performance at the 2009 Gold Cup when it was outscored 10-0.
Outplayed, Louison was the lone bright spot for Grenadians, making several saves to deny Jamaica in the second half.
"He's a young kid and only 20-years-old," Adams said. "He comes from village football back in Grenada and he's got a future in the game and he'll do that all day long."
Adding to Grenada's woes, Sporting KC midfielder Craig Rocastle hurt his knee, but played to the end visibly hobbled.
Jamaica next faces Guatemala in Miami on Friday, while Grenada hopes to regroup against group favorite Honduras the same day.
By Vijay Setlur
CARSON, California - Ryan Johnson and Luton Shelton scored first-half goals and sparked Caribbean champion Jamaica to a 4-0 victory over Grenada in the Group B opener at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Demar Phillips and Omar Daley added second-half tallies for Jamaica, which beat its regional rival for a seventh straight time and ninth in their last 10 meetings dating back to 1997.
"We looked at this as our toughest assignment as a Caribbean team. The Grenadians played the sort of game we expected them to play," Jamaica coach Theodore Whitmore said. "They have the same team that played in the Digicel Caribbean Cup and we expected them to sit back, but once we kept the ball moving we knew it would kill them off."
The win before 21,507 at Home Depot Center was just the first Gold Cup meeting between the two and comes six months after their last encounter, a 2-1 extra time win for Jamaica in the semifinals of the Caribbean Cup.
This time, Jamaica took control early dominating play with their possession and speed.
After a relatively slow opening 16 minutes, Jamaica used its three-pronged attack of Johnson, Dane Richards and Shelton to pin Grenada back and generate 23 scoring opportunities to Grenada's two.
Despite the lopsided result, Whitmore was not satisfied.
"Not 100 percent. I think the guys could have done more tonight," Whitmore said. "I think finishing was a big letdown on our part, but they managed to score four to start a competition and what a way to start."
Grenada wanted to press Jamaica and keep the ball in front of them, but rarely executed.
"We're very disappointed. We had a game plan and we didn't stick to it," Grenada coach Michael Adams said. "We worked on pressuring the ball, denying the opposition time on the ball and from the off we weren't at the races.
"We just surrendered space, surrendered time to the opposition and at an international level you can't afford to do that. We paid the price."
The Reggae Boyz, which had focused on set plays - particularly corner kick plays - during training, capitalized in the 21st minute.
Midfielder Rodolph Austin sent a short corner into Shelton, who returned it back wide, where Austin curled a ball into the area. It dropped and Shelton ticked it with the tip of his foot to direct high over goalkeeper Shemel Louison.
Jamaica increased its lead in the 39th minute.
Shelton sent the ball wide right to Richards, who sprinted down the flank. Richards then paused and squared a low ball across the area, where Johnson streaked in and tapped it past Louison.
Jamaica's offense slowed until the final 10 minutes, when a sudden surge led to two more goals.
"When you make the pitch as big as we did, and they keep the ball as well as they did, it means we've been doing a lot of running around to keep our shape and keep our discipline. And in the end you'll get tired legs," Adams said.
"It's no secret that we have a good portion of our starters who are over 30 years old so their fatigue is going to show."
Phillips tallied on a solo effort in in the 79th and Daley added a left-footed strike from the edge of the area in the 83rd to complete the scoring.
Making just their second straight Gold Cup appearance, Grenada sought to improve on its winless performance at the 2009 Gold Cup when it was outscored 10-0.
Outplayed, Louison was the lone bright spot for Grenadians, making several saves to deny Jamaica in the second half.
"He's a young kid and only 20-years-old," Adams said. "He comes from village football back in Grenada and he's got a future in the game and he'll do that all day long."
Adding to Grenada's woes, Sporting KC midfielder Craig Rocastle hurt his knee, but played to the end visibly hobbled.
Jamaica next faces Guatemala in Miami on Friday, while Grenada hopes to regroup against group favorite Honduras the same day.
Comment