Jamaica is hoping to get all three points to give them a fighting chance of advancing from the group on matchday two at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup. The Reggae Boys will tussle early group leader Trinidad and Tobago for the first in the Gold Cup history at City Park in St Louis.
Jamaica played out a frustrating 1-1 draw with tournament favorite USA in the opening game in Chicago on June 24th. The Reggae Boyz squandered a penalty kick in the 27th minute, then gave up a goal two minutes from time. On the other hand, the Soca Warriors outclassed debutant St. Kitts and the Nevis 3-0 to sit clear of the group. Despite picking apart a young USA team with another rock-hard display Jamaica winless woes continues to nine on the trot in all competition.
Heimir Hallgrimsson remains winless after taking over from former Reggae Boy Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore a few months before the start of the Gold Cup. However, Jamaica maintained their unbeaten start to a campaign in their last five Gold Cup openers. The draw marks the second time since that Jamaica had dropped points when scoring the first goal in a group stage encounter.
Both teams met twice this year in two friendlies in Jamaica with the Reggae Boyz losing 1-0 in the first match and draw 0-0 in the second game. Even though the result was not anything to write home about coach Hallgrimsson was able to see the fringe players. If Hallgrimsson is expected to get a positive result much is heavily relied on Inter Miami’s Damion-Lowe Damion Lowe who scored Jamaica’s lone goal against the United States and was a menace at the back. He came out on top has the only player with six clearances and made forty-two passes. Lowe following in the footsteps of his father Onandi Lowe though playing a completely different has recorded 2 goals in 15 matches in the Gold Cup history.
Players to watch.
Aston Villas starlet Leon-Bailey led the Reggae Boyz in shots in the opening game against the United States (3). However, he missed a crucial penalty in the 27th minute, saved by Matthew Turner. Bailey has now played 7 Gold Cup matches across three editions stemming from 2019. He provided 1 assist against the United States in the semifinals of the 2019 Gold Cup. Everton’s Demarai Gray provided the assist for Damion Lowe’s goal in his debut for the Jamaica National Team. He contributed with 1 clearance, 1 ball recovery, and 18 passes against the United States. He had an excellent game and is expected to get among the goals against Trinidad. Andre Blake made 3 saves and 1 clearance in the debut against the United States (1-1). The Golden Glove of the 2017 edition has a total of 49 saves in his participation in the history of the Gold Cup in 15 matches (6 clean sheets
The Soca Warriors treated their fans to quite a spectacle in their opening fixture, registering their largest margin of victory with three unanswered goals. The win ended a six-match game winless run at the group stage of the Concacaf Gold Cup. The Soca Warriors are the most successful Caribbean team but has yet to lift the Gold Cup. Before their victory on Sunday Trinidad had only ever triumphed twice in their opening Gold Cup group. It has been over three years since they to a Caribbean opponent, falling 1-0 in a friendly versus Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in August 2019.
Players to Watch:
Neveal Hackshaw https://www.concacaf.com/gold-cup/article/jones-fortune-pave-way-for-trinidad-and-tobago-victory/#:~:text=1%2D0%20lead.-,Neveal%20Hackshaw,-floated%20a%20pass had a stellar performance and was involved in 2 out of Trinidad & Tobago’s 3 goals with 2 assists. Alvin Jones scored the first goal in Trinidad’s 3-0 victory against Saint Kitts in the 2023 Gold Cup debut. The 28-year-old defender has featured in the last 3 editions of the tournament (2019, 2021, and 2023). Ajani Fortune contributed with a goal in Trinidad and Tobago’s first Group A match in the 2023 edition. He was one of the players with the most shots against Saint Kitts and Nevis (2), alongside Kaile Auvray and Levi García. Nicklas Frenderup kept a clean sheet in Trinidad’s 3-0 victory against Saint Kitts in their debut match. The goalkeeper made 2 clearances and 1 save in the current competition’s debut. He had 15 saves in 305 minutes played in the Copa Oro (including the Prelims 2021) A win for Trinidad would see them punching an early ticket for the final eight. A win for Jamaica will keep their hopes alive.