Reggae Boyz beat Guadeloupe to reach Digicel Cup semis

… also qualify for Gold Cup after 2-0 win; Guyana go down to Antigua and Barbuda 1-0
SAINTE-LUCE, Martinique – Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz placed their off-the-field problems firmly behind them and blanked Guadeloupe 2-0 in their second game of the 2010 Digicel Caribbean Cup to book their place in the semi-finals as group winners here at the Riviere Pilote Sports Complex, Monday night.
Shaun Francis opened the scoring in the 53rd minute and substitute Ryan Johnson made the game safe in time added, to push the Jamaicans to maximum six points in Group I, three ahead of Antigua and Barbuda, who edged Guyana 1-0 in the first game of the double-header.
Guadeloupe and Guyana remain at the bottom of the four-team table on one point.
The win came at a price as the Boyz picked up three cautions, with captain Shavar Thomas, Rodolph Austin and Troy Smith being the guilty parties. It was the second for Thomas and Austin, which means that they must serve a one-match suspension in what will be a meaningless encounter against Guyana tonight..
The victory also ensured qualification to next summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, as the top four teams in the Caribbean Cup advance to that regional showpiece event. Jamaica joined Cuba from Group H, as the early qualifiers for the semis.
In their desperate bid to get something positive from the game, Guadeloupe’s coach Salnot Roger made four changes to the team which started against Guyana on Saturday night, but the strategy seemed to have made no difference as the Jamaicans grabbed an early control of the game, but failed to turn their superiority into anything tangible.
In the very first minute of play, New York Red Bulls’ Dane Richards made his intensions known when he rifled a shot from just outside the penalty area which forced goalkeeper Yohann Bus into a fine save, turning the ball around the right upright.
Then midway into the half, Luton Shelton, who scored two goals in the opening game, scraped the far upright when his neat header flashed by with Bus stranded, after Keammar Daley had provided a teasing cross.
In the first match, Antigua and Barbuda stormed back into contention when Gason Gregory, who scored the free-kick against Jamaica in their 1-3 loss on Saturday night, found the winner with another rasping left-footer which wrong-footed goalkeeper Ronson Williams in the 69th minute.
But they had to endure some anxious closing moments as the South Americans threw everything into attack and almost stole a point on a few occasions, the most glaring being when striker Devon Millington headed against the base of the upright, with Molvin James well and truly beaten.

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