Guyana’s unbeaten run ended by Nicaragua
The Dominican Republic, Barbados and Nicaragua have qualified for the 2020 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship thanks to first-place finishes in their respective groups in CU20 Qualifying.
Group A saw Nicaragua defeat Guyana 1-0 at the Nicaragua National Football Stadium in Managua, Nicaragua, to earn a place at the CU20.
An early red card made things difficult for Guyana and the Pinoleros took advantage, with Ezequiel Ugalde scoring the game-winner in the 49’.
Both teams entered the contest unbeaten after three games, with Guyana defeating Montserrat 6-0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines 3-0 and US Virgin Islands 2-0.
Rounding out the action in Group A was the U.S. Virgin Islands closing their campaign with a 3-2 win against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Shomari Francis (40’), Jimson St. Louis (74’) and an own goal from Mekeal Williams (84’) provided the scoring for USVI, while Vincy Heat got goals from Williams (8’) and Jerron Dopwell (54’).
In Group B, the Dominican Republic clinched their spot with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Grenada at the Complejo Deportivo de Bayaguana in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic.
The two teams were tangled in a stalemate for almost the entire match, but a Jayson Made goal in the 82’ proved decisive and sent the Dominican Republic to the next phase of the competition.
In the group’s other match, Dominica topped Anguilla 4-1. Braces from Audel Laville (2’, 79) and Kadimel Paul (12’, 72’) proved more than enough against Anguilla’s lone goal through Sedu Bradshaw (29’).
Barbados marched to a first-place finish in Group D with a 3-0 triumph over Cayman Islands at the Juan Roman Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
A scoreless first half gave way to three Barbados goals in the final half-hour through Niall Reid-stephen in the 60’ followed by two goals in two minutes from Donte Greenidge in the 84’ and 85’.
The group wrapped up with a feisty 2-2 draw between Puerto Rico and Bermuda. Jan Carlos Mateo Delgado’s brace (4’, 29’) gave Puerto Rico a two-goal lead, only to see Bermuda rally for the point through scores from Luciano Swan (43’) and Ayleal Dill (67’). (Concacaf)