GFF proud of Lady Jags’ performance in Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship Qualifiers

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is proud of the Under-20 Women’s National Team’s overall performance at the just concluded Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship Qualifiers in the Dominican Republic.

Guyana drew 0-0 with the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, finishing second in Group C of the Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship Qualifiers.

The young Lady Jags fought hard to secure a win in the Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo, but were unable to break through the host nation’s defence. Both teams finished on seven points, with two wins and one draw.

But the Dominican Republic advanced to the Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship on goal difference – Guyana scored 16 goals, while Dominican Republic scored 18.

GFF President Wayne Forde said the federation is proud of the team’s overall performance and that the focus now is to continue to build on the established foundation for women’s football in Guyana.

“I am deeply proud of the outstanding performances our girls were able to deliver in each game that they played. The final game against the Dominican Republic was a true test of will and spirit and our girls fought and defended as though their lives depended on a positive outcome, which they achieved with a draw. I know that I speak for the players and coaching staff when I say we are all a bit heartbroken over this result, but I am equally confident we all share in the collective pride we feel as a GFF family and as a nation,” Forde said.

He added: “This is a young team and many of the players will have a second shot at qualifying for the Concacaf Championship next time around. It is now my task to continue to build on an already sturdy foundation, which has enabled the steady progress we are making in women’s football. I would like to close by thanking our colleagues from the International Support Group (ISG) for their hard work and dedication to the programme.”

The young Lady Jags defeated Suriname 6-0 and Dominica 10-0 in earlier group matches. Their victories were as a result of strong defence strategies and teamwork.

Head Coach Paul DeAbreu said Guyana played brilliantly over the last three weeks and that they should be proud of their performance throughout the tournament.

“As a team we are very happy to have been one of the competitive teams in Group C of Concacaf U-20 Qualifiers. Coming into this tournament, our main goal was to qualify for the Championship, and the team played brilliantly over the three matches but came up short in our last match against the Dominican Republic. Our girls held their own against a very good Dominican Republic team and should be proud of the overall performance throughout the tournament. I will leave you with this, the best team didn’t win, but the lucky team did.”

A record 32 teams in six groups competed in the qualifying round with the winner of each group advancing to the June 2023 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship. (GFF)