Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz suffered another heavy defeat to Mexico on Tuesday night, going down 4-0 at the Shell Energy Stadium in Houston in the second of two international friendlies. The result followed Saturday’s 3-0 loss and capped a challenging week for the Jamaicans, who conceded seven goals without reply across both fixtures.
All four goals came in a torrid first half for Jamaica, as Mexico ran riot early. Lizbeth Ovalle opened the scoring in the 8th minute with a spectacular strike from a tight angle following a corner. That set the tone for a dominant Mexican display, with Alice Soto bagging a brace in the 11th and 24th minutes — both composed finishes from inside the box. Scarlett Camberos added the third in the 18th minute, capitalizing on a defensive lapse to fire into the top right corner.
Mexico’s fluid attack repeatedly stretched Jamaica’s backline in the opening half, with Alice Soto and Jacqueline Ovalle proving particularly dangerous down the flanks. Goalkeeper Sydney Schneider made a couple of saves to stem the tide, but the damage was already done by the break.
Jamaica made five substitutions at halftime in an attempt to regroup, including the introduction of forwards Kameron Simmonds and Kiki van Zanten, and defender Vyan Sampson. The second-half performance was noticeably improved, with the Reggae Girlz showing greater intensity and discipline both in and out of possession.
There were opportunities for Jamaica to pull a goal back — notably a string of efforts around the hour mark. Kiki van Zanten had a header saved in the 66th minute after a good build-up involving Olufolasade Adamolekun. Moments earlier, Trudi Carter had seen a left-footed shot sail over the bar following a corner. Adamolekun also had a shot from distance blocked in the 79th minute, while Shaneil Buckley tested Mexico’s backline late in the game with a right-footed effort from outside the box that drifted wide.
After the match, Coach Deon Burton acknowledged the poor start but found positives in the second-half response.
“I learned that they showed character in the second half after another bad start to the game,” Burton said. “They could have gone under, but they didn’t. Credit to them for showing some fight at the end.”
Burton pointed to the halftime message as a turning point.
“We said it from the first game — the intensity wasn’t there. Again, I don’t know why, I can’t put my finger on it. But the second half was a different story, and I think we should have really got something out of it. That’s what we want from them.”
He also praised several players who were moved into different positions or brought into the side after Saturday’s loss.
“There’s a few we definitely spoke to and marked down,” he said. “Their performance in this second game was much better from their individual standpoint.”
Looking ahead, Burton admitted that while the tour wasn’t a success in terms of results, there were encouraging signs to build on.
“We need to work harder to improve and get better results,” he said. “But it’s good how it ended — we had a lot of territory in the second half, we pressed from the front and caused Mexico some problems. Just a little more quality at the end and we would have got some goals. That’s a positive we’ll take forward.”