Guyana and the Cayman Islands had to settle for an equal share of the points in the 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship Qualifiers after a draw in their Group D game on Saturday.
Group D kicked off with a hard-fought contest between the two nations that ended in a 0-0 draw, with Guyana playing the final 32 minutes with 10 men due to a red card for Yohance Douglas.
The stars on the day were the two goalkeepers in action, as Guyana’s Ronaldo Blair and Cayman Islands counterpart Leandre Mckay each made a number of big saves to secure a point for their side.
The Guyanese are up against the US Virgin Islands next, in a game that starts at 16:00h on Monday.
Sitting atop Group D at present is Nicaragua following their 7-0 triumph over U.S. Virgin Islands.
Keylon Batiz (seventh and 25th) and Jareck Caceres (27th and 80th) each had a brace, while Widman Talavera (33rd), Manuel Gutierrez (36th) and Darwin Corrales (84th) chipped in with goals.
Guyana’s Head Coach Wayne Dover said the game against the Cayman Islands was a competitive one.
“…one that we expected knowing them from the 2018 tournament and what they were expected to bring to the table. Our programme that started approximately six weeks ago was timely to get us up to the level we were yesterday (Saturday),” Dover said.
“The courage shown by our lads despite playing the last 30 minutes of the game with 10 men is commendable. We have to take notice of the fact this is a relatively very young team with more than 50% with no international exposure and experience, so it was a very big ask of them and they stood up and they should be pat on their shoulders and be told well done lads.”
