Jamaica’s Malone Bird successfully made it through to the second stage of the Boys’ U11 Singles competition at the Pan American Under 11 and Under 13 Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

Bird made it through the group phase after securing one win and one loss in his two matches on Wednesday.

After suffering a straight-set loss at the hands of Canada’s Daniel Liang (11-4, 11-9, 11-7) in his first game, he rebounded with a four-set win over Guatemala’s Omar Ixcaragua.

Bird won the first two sets 11-7 and 11-8 before Ixcaragua tried to mount a comeback with an 11-4 third set victory before the Jamaican shut the door with an 11-6 win in the fourth set.

Unfortunately, the second half of the Bird brothers, Shacoil, didn’t have the same success and failed to advance to the next phase after suffering a pair of straight set losses to Brazil’s Joao Ribeiro (11-7, 11-3, 11-7) and Ecuador’s Juan Gonzalez (11-9, 11-6, 11-1).

The draw for the second phase of the singles will be held on Friday. The Bird brothers will also take on Argentina in doubles on Friday.

Jamaica’s team of brothers Malone and Shacoil Bird got as far as the Round of 16 stage of the Boys’ Under 11 Team category at the ongoing 2024 Pan American Under 11 and Under 13 Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The boys first advanced from Group 2 of the preliminary phase on Tuesday with a win 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic after suffering a 0-3 loss at the hands of the USA B.

They were then defeated 3-0 in the Round of 16 by Guatemala B on Wednesday.

Malone Bird and Gustavo Borrayo opened proceedings in the tie with a thrilling five-set battle which the Guatemalan eventually won.

Borrayo took the first set 11-8 before Bird won the second in a similar score line to tie the match at one-set all.

Borrayo then re-established a lead with a dominant 11-5 third set win before Bird rallied once again to win the fourth 11-6.

The deciding set was the least competitive as Borrayo ran away with an 11-3 win.

The second singles match between Shacoil Bird and Omar Ixcaragua was far less competitive with the latter winning in straight-sets (11-9, 11-6, 11-4).

The doubles encounter was next which the Guatemalans won in another five-set contest.

Borrayo and Ixcaragua took the first set 11-7 before Jamaica’s Bird brothers made it 1-1 with an 11-9 second set win.

Guatemala took the third in a similar score line as the first before the Jamaicans set up a decisive fifth set with an 11-3 fourth set win.

The deciding set was competitive with both pairs battling to an eventual 11-8 win by Guatemala.

Guatemala B got all the way to the semi-finals of the Boys’ U11 Team category where they lost 3-0 to USA B.

The category was won by USA A who beat USA B 3-2 in the final on Wednesday.

The Bird brothers will open their singles campaigns in the first phase on Thursday.

Malone Bird will take on Guatemala’s Omar Ixcaragua and Canada’s Daniel Liang in Group 3 while Shacoil Bird will face Brazil’s Joao Ribeiro and Ecuador’s Juan Gonzalez in Group 4.

They play Argentina’s Luca Marcial and Valentino Villegas in doubles on Friday.

The spotlight was on Group C of League B in the 2023 Road to the Concacaf Women's Gold Cup tournament on Tuesday night.

Bermuda sits atop Group C with two victories to start its campaign. The Dominican Republic picked up its first victory, but Barbados maintains second place in the group on goal differential, while St Vincent and the Grenadines will use the break to reassess and return stronger during the October international fixtures.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines vs. Bermuda

Bermuda took a 4-0 victory at Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The home side generated a good chance to take the lead early in the 11th when a corner kick provided a menacing opportunity, but Dionte Delpeche could not connect with Asha Richards.

Jya Ratteray Smith took the lead for the visitors in the 14th, after connecting off a long pass into the box from Khyla Brangman.

Smith doubled the lead by completing her brace in the 39th, after Symira Lowe Derrell won a contested ball in midfield to provide the assist.

Eva Frazzoni added a third goal in the 78th after connecting with a pass down the right flank from Trinae Edwards.

Khyla Brangman extended the lead to four in the 86th from the penalty spot. Frazzoni was taken down on the previous play.

Dominican Republic vs. Barbados

The Dominican Republic earned a 3-0 victory over Barbados at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Acacia Small nearly had the visitors up in the sixth, but Odaliana Gomez, was there to block the shot on a night where she would collect the clean sheet.

Barbados goalkeeper Kamillah Burke also had a goal-denying save in the 20th, as she stood in the way of Vanessa Kara.

Kara broke through with the opening goal in the 39th with a pouncing run into the box to collect the ball and shoot it past Burke. 

Brianne Reed extended the lead by two in the 53rd by heading in a corner kick from Winibian Peralta. 

Kara collected her brace in the 55th with another attack into the box as a throw-in led to the three-goal lead.

Jaylen Vallecillo had a header towards goal in the 73rd as the hosts looked to increase their grasp on the scoreboard. Kara had another shot on goal in the 86th as the home side closed out the result.

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 58^th 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.

Jamaica clinched a spot in the Round of 16 of the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship on Tuesday with a 3-1 win over hosts Dominican Republic at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo.

The home side jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the third minute through Maria Torreira but the young Reggae Girlz would pull level in the 30^th minute thanks to a goal from Tiny Seaton.

Things stayed tight going into the second half, but in the final 20 minutes, Jamaica would pull away.

Dannique Wilson scored the go-ahead goal in the 70^th minute and then Natoya Atkinson added an insurance goal in stoppage time to round out the 3-1 score line.

Jamaica now sits second in Group F behind Canada who beat Bermuda 5-0 earlier on Tuesday.

Both teams have six points from two games and face off on Thursday to determine who will advance as winners of Group F.

The Concacaf Women's Championship features 20 teams, 16 divided into four groups of four plus four teams that have already advanced to the Round of 16 through pre-tournament qualifying.

The top three teams from each group will join the four teams that have already advanced via the pre-tournament qualifying in the Round of 16 where, from there, it will be a knockout bracket to the tournament final.

The top three teams at the end of the championship will qualify for the 2022 FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup which will run from October 11-30 in India.