Young Reggae Girlz end Concacaf U-20 Champs with 4-1 win over Panama Featured

Jamaica's Under-20 Reggae Girlz celebrate a goal Jamaica's Under-20 Reggae Girlz celebrate a goal file

Jamaica’s young Reggae Girlz gave head coach Hugh Bradford something to smile about, as they concluded their failed Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship campaign on a high with a 4-1 beating of Panama, at the Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

Natoya Atkinson (16th), Davia Richards (32nd), Maya Raghunandanan (37th) and Amelia Van Zanten (74th) were on target for the Bradford’s side, while Meredith Rosas, got Panama’s consolation in the 79th minute.

With the win, the Girlz ended Group A in third on three points scoring four goals and conceding nine, behind United States and Canada, to whom they suffered identical 0-4 defeats. Panama finished at the foot of the standing without a point.

It was a dominant performance by the Girlz, who for the first time in the tournament played with some degree of freedom and bossed possession throughout.

 In fact, they were so fluent in attack, particularly in the first half, to the point where they held a high line, got significant numbers forward and camped out in Panama's quarters.

After firing a few warning shots, the Girlz inevitably broke the deadlock when Atkinson fired home from close range, after Destiny Powell’s initial effort came back off the crossbar.

Though they continued to apply consistent pressure, the Girlz had to wait until minutes past the half-hour mark to double their lead. Richards converted from the 12-yard spot, after Mireilis Rojas was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the 18-yard box on the VAR review.

Panama was not without hope, as they tried to play their game and even stringed a few good build ups together to remind the Jamaicans of their potential but couldn’t get anything on frame.

However, the Jamaicans pushed further ahead through Raghunandanan, who pounced on loose ball and lashed a one-time effort from a distance past Alejandra Garay, in goal for Panama, to make it 3-0 at the break.

Panama was never expected to overturn the deficit, but they were certainly more purposeful on the resumption with Sherline King forcing a fingertip save from Jamaica’s goalkeeper Katie Oakley in the 58th minute.

The Central Americans grew in confidence in the attacking third as the game progressed, especially as the young Reggae Girlz briefly became complacent and overconfident.

When they regained composure, the Jamaicans added a fourth courtesy of Van Zanten from the penalty spot, after the fleet-footed Shaneil Buckley was taken out by Garay inside the danger area.

But Panama responded shortly after with a 12-yard conversion of their own. Substitute Andrene Smith felled Aaliyah Gil in the 18-yard box, shortly after entering the pitch and Rosas was cool, calm and collected in firing past Oakley.

The Jamaicans could have added to their tally in the latter stages, but lacked composure in the final third, while it took some brilliance from Oakley to deny Gil, from a distance, four minutes from time.

Rate this item
(0 votes)
Sherdon Cowan

Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.