Golden Jaguars battle to hard-fought 2-2 draw against El Salvador
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Saturday, 08 September 2012 21:30
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Guyana's Golden Jaguars, clinched their first points in Group B, with a commendable 2-2 draw against El Salvador, when action in the North, Central American and Caribbean Zone, third round 2014 World Cup qualifiers, continued last Friday evening at the Estadio Cuscatlan.
The star of the night for the Jaguars was
19-year-old, Caledonia AIA, left-winger Trayon Bobb who in his first game of these qualifiers, scored a clinical double in the 20th and 54th minutes, while Isidro Gutierrez and Osael Romero scored for the home side in the 4th and 21st minutes respectively.
With Mexico defeating Costa Rica 2-0 in Friday night's simultaneous Group B encounter, Tuesday's home game is now a must-win game for the Jaguars.
According to FIFA, Mexico will already qualify for the next round if they defeat Costa Rica at the Estadio Azteca on Tuesday, while Guyana will be eliminated if they lose at home to El Salvador and Costa Rica topple Mexico.
Thus home support once more at Providence for Tuesday’s encounter will be a key factor in aiding the Jaguars getting a victory in that encounter.
In front of a typical hostile Central American crowd, the locals were decked out in a sea of blue to show support for La Selecta, while inversely intimidating the visiting Golden Jaguars.
On what was a fairly damp outfield which made passing tricky and control of the ball difficult for both sides, the 90 minutes of play descended into a lively counter-attacking affair with both defences looking appreciably vulnerable.
Guyana's defence was the first to be exposed as La Selecta opened the scoring inside the first five minutes of play.
A long cross from midfield was misjudged by Walter ‘Boyd’ Moore at left back which saw Gutierrez proceed to ghost into the box and fire his shot straight through the legs of Guyana’s custodian Richard Reynolds.
The opening 20-minute salvo from that first goal saw the home side in relative control as the Jaguars struggled to grab a foothold in proceedings.
However, totally against the run of play, Guyana struck back thanks solely to the partnership between Bobb and Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson, which would go on to torment the hosts for the remainder of the game.
Richardson first took advantage of a fumble in El Salvador’s midfield to break away on the counter-attack and slid a gem of a pass to Bobb, who slammed home a superb long-range left-foot strike from just outside the 18-yard box, past the outstretched glove of El Salvador’s custodian Dagaberto Portillo and into the top of the net.
This sent his team mates and support staff into pandemonium as the Jaguars scored their first official goal of the qualifiers, since the one against Mexico in the first round was recorded as a defence error.
That feeling of ecstasy was immediately short-lived however, as La Selecta made it 2-1 right after kick-off.
Gutierrez was again into the action when he sent a cross down the right flank into the path of Romero, who charged forward from midfield and slotted home in the 21st minute, as the Jaguars’ central defence became lethargic and was punished for seemingly switching off at a crucial transition phase of the game.
The remainder of the first half closed out in frenetic Gung-ho fashion for both teams, with El Salvador slightly more composed in mid-field possession while Guyana continued to aim to catch the hosts on the counter-attack.
As the second half resumed the telepathic Richardson/Bobb combination would once again link to a devastating effect.
Richardson, who had one of his best games for the national team, playing in the trequartista/playmaker position, sent a delightful through ball into Bobb's path and with the defenders flat-footed, Bobb only had the keeper to negotiate and he obliged once more, to bring the Golden Jaguars level with their hosts.
The final 30 minutes saw both teams creating further opportunities to win the game, but each side failed to secure a winner as the game petered out to a draw.
Two of the more notable chances occurred first in the 71st minute when El Salvador’s Jamie Alas hit a long range shot that hit the top of the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Chris Nurse who was on the attack sent a long pass from mid-field into the path of substitute Dwain Jacobs, whose cross across the face of goal was barely smothered away by the keeper, ahead of Ricky Shakes who was coming in on the right side to take a shot.
Speaking after the game a clearly proud Golden Jaguars’ national coach Jamaal Shabazz stated his clear pleasure with the result.
"I am very proud of the team coming out with a point in what were difficult conditions. We played as a strong united force and got some great individual performances from some guys. Richardson and teenager Bobb stood out as a picture of selfless work and a team-comes-first approach."
He continued: "I was overwhelmed when at the end of the game the entire El Salvador stadium who were hostile to us during the encounter, gave us a standing ovation after the game. That touched me deeply and it’s a moment I will cherish in my football life. Our boys bought into the tactics and we got a good result, tomorrow is another day"
