By Akeem Greene
Guyana’s Golden Jaguars suffered a disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Suriname in their opening League A match of the Concacaf Nations League at the National Track and Field Facility, West Coast Demerara, on Thursday afternoon.
Despite showing glimpses of promise, defensive errors and missed opportunities cost Guyana the match.
Suriname took an early lead through Djevencio van der Kust, who capitalised on a defensive lapse to find the back of the net in the 18th.
With assistance from Virgil Misidjan, van der Kust unleashed a powerful left shot to the far post, putting the visitors ahead after a few tantalising efforts.
Guyana responded with a penalty goal from Omari Glasgow in the 43rd. The penalty came when van der Kust brought down debutant Isaiah Jones.
The forward was on a run of individual brilliance when he switched from the left wing.
Up came a collective Glasgow, who extended his goal-scoring prowess with his 13th goal in the Nations League.
Substitute Osaze de Rosario had a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper inside the 12-yard box in the 54th but foiled a clear-cut opportunity to put the Jaguars ahead.
The opposite custodian, Quillan Roberts, was then under immense pressure with a fleet of daring offensive plays by the Surinamese.
As both sides rang the changes due to the high temperatures, which caused the match to be played with water breaks, substitute Jaden Montnor made something out of nothing after slipping through the defense and releasing a shot that, to much surprise, beat Roberts on the near post in the 66th.
Denzel Jubitana had a chance to seal it for Suriname in the 80th but sent his solo effort wide.
However, three minutes later, Misidjan capitalized on Terrence Vancooten’s miscue to score his first goal for his country and seal a clinical performance by Guyana’s eastern neighbours.
Attention for the Golden Jaguars now turns to what should be a tougher opponent in Martinique. They depart on September 6 to face Martinique on Monday, September 9, at 16:00h.
The French-speaking unit, currently 11th in Concacaf rankings, battles the formidable Guatemala this evening from 22:00h.
Guyana is ranked 19th, while Suriname is 17th.
The League A groups are as follows:
Group A: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Suriname, and Guyana
Group B: Jamaica, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Nicaragua, and French Guiana
After Group Stage play in September and October, the first and second-place finishers of each group (four teams in total) will advance to the Quarterfinals, where they will join the four top-ranked League A teams (Mexico, United States, Panama, and Canada).
Guyana v Suriname
Guyana’s Starting XI: Quillan Roberts, Terence Vancooten, Reiss Greenidge, Curtez Kellman, Isaiah Jones, Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Kadell Daniel, Daniel Wilson, Elliot Bonds (captain), Omari Glasgow, Deon Moore
Suriname’s Starting XI: Etienne Vaessen, Anfernee Dijksteel, Leo Abena, Stefano Denswil (captain), Djevencio van der Kust, Immanuel-Johannes Pherai, Virgil Misidjan, Gyrano Kerk, Justin Lonwijk, Shaquille Pinas, Gleofilo Vlijter
