KENNESAW, Georgia (CMC) – A Guyana side, minus five regular starters, were manhandled in a friendly international on Wednesday, when Guillermo Ramirez scored a brace to lead Guatemala to an easy 3-0 victory. The match was the first for the Guyanese on American soil, and forms part of their build-up to the Digical Caribbean Cup Finals later this month in Martinique. But the result left the Guyanese coach Wayne Dover shaking his head, after Tránsito Montepeque gave the Guatemalans the breakthrough, and Ramirez followed-up to formalise the victory.
“We can’t make these kind of mistakes and expect to win against serious opposition,” said Dover.
A crowd of 4 124 in the brand-new, purpose-built arena saw the Guyanese fall behind, when Montepeque caught a roller from Jaguars goalkeeper Jason Lloyd and put the ball in the lower left corner in the 23rd minute.
Six minutes later, Ramirez broke free from the Guyanese offside trap, and found himself in a one-on-one with Lloyd.
After taking two crossover steps into the box, Ramirez slid the ball under a diving Lloyd in the 29th minute, as the Guatemalans led 2-0 at half-time.
Guyana played with greater purpose in the second half, testing the Guatemalan net-minder with some well-placed shots, as well as a number of corner kick opportunities.
U.S.-based midfielder Sean Cameron and English-born wing-back Chris Bourne took the majority of the corner kicks, but Guatemala remained steadfast in defence.
Ramirez secured the victory for the Central American side, when he latched on to an assist from Lester Ruiz, and scored in the 64th minute.
It was the third meeting of the two nations at the International level with the Central Americans maintaining a perfect record. In 1987 Guyana’s Olympic team (mainly U23s) went under 6-0 and 3-0 in Guatemala after the then National Association waived their rights to host one of the two home-and-away fixtures for an agreed sum of money.
The match was part of the El Patron International Soccer Series, which marks the opening of four international contests this month at the 8 300-seater Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium.
The Golden Jaguars now look forward to their opening match in the Caribbean Cup against Guadeloupe on November 27.
They enter the competition as the third-best side in the Caribbean Football Union behind eight-time champions Trinidad & Tobago and reigning champions Jamaica, after being ranked at an all-time high of 86th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, published  hours before the game on Wednesday.