MANAGUA, Nicaragua (CMC) – Substitute Simon Dawkins pulled Jamaica from the brink of expulsion by scoring in the penultimate minute of regulation time to hand Reggae Boyz a two-nil victory over Nicaragua in their second-leg third-round World Cup Qualifier here Tuesday night.Dawkins’ late goal added to a first half conversion by Darren Mattocks and allowed Jamaica to advance to the Fourth Round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying phase.
The match momentum swung back and forth for the most part, with Jamaica pressing the Nicaraguans deep while the home side opted for a strategy of chasing long balls at Estadio Nacional.
The Jamaicans repelled the attack and did not repeat the defensive blunders that allowed the Nicaraguans to score three goals on Friday night.
Needing to win by two clear goals, after the 2-3 loss to them in the opening leg, the Reggae Boyz pressed the hosts and created a number of corners from which the opener emanated.
Mattocks put his country ahead in the 13th minute, slamming home the first goal after Demar Phillips executed a corner from the left side.
Dawkins’ winner in the 89th minute of play also originated from a corner after the ball was cleared into his path allowing him to fire with his left foot to silence 20 000 Nicaraguan fans inside the stadium.
Jamaica will join Group B which includes seeded teams Costa Rica, and Panama, as well as Haiti who advanced after beating Grenada three-nil Tuesday to win the tie six-one on aggregate.
St Vincent and the Grenadines also advanced to the next round despite suffering a two-one defeat to Aruba in their second leg tie in Oranjestad.
Tevin Slater scored a late goal after Aruba had erased a two-goal deficit within the first 50 minutes from an Erixon Danso brace.
The 21-year-old striker chipped over goalkeeper Eric Abdul from 10 yards out to hand SVG a 3-2 victory on aggregate and a berth in the fourth round where they will face Group C opponents United States, Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala.
However Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Curacao and Grenada were not so fortunate.
Will Johnson’s goal in the 45th minute lifted Canada to a 1-1 draw at the FFB Stadium, giving them a 4-1 aggregate victory after earning a 3-0 win in Friday’s opener.
Guatemala bounced back from a loss in the series opener to defeat visiting Antigua & Barbuda 2-0 and progress 2-1 on aggregate.
Curacao were eliminated after suffering their second one-nil defeat to El Salvador while Grenada perished 3-nil against Haiti at Stade Sylvio Cator.