TWO first-half goals by Ricardo Fuller and Omar Daley in the 10th and 22nd minutes propelled Jamaica to a convincing 2-0 win over Guatemala in their international friendly at the National Stadium last night.
The Reggae Boyz were scoring their second win inside "The Office" in four days as the new Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) administration kick-started their preparation for the 2010 World Cup campaign.
The Jamaicans, just as they did against El Salvador on Sunday, took control early and never looked back.
Daley broke free in the second minute down the right flank, but his cross was well held by goalkeeper Luis Molina. Two minutes later, Luton Shelton got the first real chance of opening the scoring but he headed down into the ground and over the bar.
But it didn't take the Reggae Boyz much longer to open the scoring. Fuller charged down a defender and showed good pace before chipping over the advancing goalkeeper Molina in the 10th minute.
Jamaica continued to dominate and Christopher Jackson and Demar Phillips combined well down the left flank to open up the Guatemala backline, but Jackson's searching cross couldn't find a Reggae Boy.
Striker Shelton was replaced by Dane Richards in the 20th minute after picking up a knock earlier.
However, the fans didn't have to wait long, as in the 22nd minute the impressive Austin found Daley down the right flank and the Bradford City midfielder cut inside his defender before calmly firing home to double Jamaica's lead.
Richards, who plays for New York Red Bull in the USA, showed good pace and skill and may have thought he earned a penalty in the 27th minute, but the referee didn't think so.
Central midfielder Oneil Thomspon then dragged a left-footer wide from just outside the box, then Richards found himself with a free header and couldn't hit the target from a Daley corner kick.
The half ended 2-0 as Guatemala offered very little in offence.
A Thompson header in the 51st minute from a corner kick, sailed across the goal to kick start the second period.
Goodison on his 35th birthday picked up a yellow card in the 59th minute after getting entangled with Serlvin Motta. He was later substituted four minutes later in the 63rd minute.
It ended a decent comeback by the veteran defender.
Richards, whose pace troubled the Guatemalan defence all night, broke free down the right flank and played a perfect ball into the path of Phillips, who miraculously kicked high from close range. It should have been 3-0.
Moments later, Austin's pile-driver whistled just wide of the upright. Every time Austin collects the ball, the crowd buzzed with expectation of a torrid shot after he made his mark with a tremendous goal on Sunday against El Salvador.
Jamaica - Donovan Ricketts, Oneil Thompson, Rudolph Austin, Christopher Jackson (Wolry Wolfe 60th), Ian Goodison (Sean Fraser 63rd), Tyrone Marshall, Shavar Thomas (Demar Stewart 45th), Omar Daley (Ricardo Geddes 60th), Demar Phillips, Luton Shelton (Dane Richards 20th), Ricardo Fuller.
Subs not used: Richard McCullum, Rafei Wolfe, Khari Stephenson, Damion Williams, Fabian Taylor
Booked: Goodison 59th, Thompson 83rd
Guatemala - Luis Molina, Gustavo Cabrera, Yony Flores, Nestor Martinez, Leonel Noreiga (Saul Matta 54th), Rigoberto Gomez (Serlvin Motta 26th), Dwight Pezzarossi (Transito Montepeque 70th), Claudio Alvisuris, Fredy Thompson, Carlos Quinonez, Lester Ruiz (Cotto Aroldo 35th).
