Golden Jaguars and Barbados Tridents battle to 2-2 draw

Feb 02, 2015 Sports

Guyana’s Golden Jaguars staved off a spirited fightback from the Barbados Tridents to come away with a creditable 2-2 draw when the two nations clashed in an international friendly last evening at the Barbados National Stadium.
The lack of competitive football took its toll on the predominantly young Guyanese side which had to contend with the spirited and fit Barbados side which was also made up of mostly under-23 players.
Guyana started the game in composed fashion as they controlled the ball putting together numerous passes. They were patient in their buildups which paid dividends early. Midfielder Sheldon Noel, who has had quite some experience with the Jaguars before would put the Guyanese ahead in the 11th minute.
Noel’s shot eluded the grasp of goalkeeper Dario Weir at full stretch in the Barbados goal much to the delight of the many Guyanese fans who came out to lend support to their countrymen.

Guyana and Barbados battle in the Bajan goal area during their drawn match last evening.

The visitors continued to control play with a few moments of brilliance on the left side by the home team which as they have done in the past, kept coming at the Guyanese despite trailing. But the lead for the Golden Jaguars would double 33 minutes into the encounter.
It was the debut goal for Canadian based debutant Emery Welshman who proved that he is a worthy addition to the Golden Jaguars lineup. It was the back end of some deft touches among his teammates in the final third, again, goalkeeper Weir beaten to his left, Guyana 2 Barbados 0.
The Technical staff had said that the level of fitness was going to be a challenge for the Guyanese team given the lack of football at home. That reality stepped in after the second goal was scored by the Golden Jaguars.
The young Bajan side under the guidance of Technical Director Marcos Falopa kept coming at the Jaguars and were rewarded with a beautiful goal from a volley off the boot of Jomo Harris, his first international goal in the 36th minute.
The shot beat custodian Derrick Carter to his left side, the goal resulted in an eruption of relief from the home fans as they finally had something to shout about even as some of the Guyanese fans applauded for the well taken shot.
Harris’ goal heralded in a period of dominance for the home team that the Golden Jaguars hadn’t any response for but just to keep the rampaging Tridents at bay.
A mere minute after they reduced the deficit, Barbados were on target again as they capitalized of a lapse in concentration by the Jaguars. The Captain himself, Mario Harte did the honours of neutralizing the Golden Jaguars advantage with another well placed shot to Carter’s left in the 37th minute, Barbados 2 Guyana 2.
The remaining eight minutes of regulation time and the 1 minute of added on time saw the home team dominating proceedings as the Golden Jaguars did their utmost to keep them at bay.
The second half saw the Guyanese looking much more composed than they ended the first half and the fact that the two teams agreed to use six subs brought relief to both sides as a number of players were cramping up.
The fresh legs that were introduced by Head Coach Shabazz and staff injected new life into the Jaguars and they returned to controlling the game with those substitutions. Vurlon Mills made way for Daniel Wilson in the 55th minute, goal scorer Holder, who was cramping up, was replaced by Joshua Brown in the 59th minute.
Clive Nobrega came on for Eusi Phillips in the 63rd minute, four minutes later Welshman was replaced by Pernell Schultz while with one minute to go to regulation time; Calvin Shepherd was introduced for Dwain Jacobs.
Barbados also made five changes in the 54th, 63rd, 72nd, 81st and 90+2 minutes as the sides sought to break the deadlock. Even the five minutes of added on time did not change the scoreline.
Head Coach Shabazz speaking after the game said that he felt it was a fair result noting that the Barbados team was a much fitter unit even tough Guyana had better quality players. He said that the game gave a perfect analysis of where the game is in Guyana.
“It gave us the truth of where we are. Lots of talent not yet fit for international football. I think we’ve got to get the boys playing locally with their clubs at a high level, that’s the only way they are going to get better.”
While stating his pleasure with what he saw from the Guyanese players, Shabazz noted that the young cadre of players in Trayon Bobb, Pernell Schultz, Clive Nobrega, Joshua Brown and Welshman all gave a good account of themselves.
“And this is a good sign for the future. In attack we have seen so many good players and it’s going to make the competition very difficult for the older players who don’t want to confirm to the rules.”
Barbados Technical Director Marcos Falopa said that he was very pleased with the performance of his young side which will serve them well in the near future.