… Golden Jaguars humbled by Panama 4-2 in spirited performance

By Rawle Toney (compliments of Let’s Bet Sports)

 THE story of the game, Guyana versus Panama; Neil Danns netted a double, but Guyana went down 4-2 to Panama at the FirstEnergy Stadium, in Cleveland, Ohio, last evening in match number 15 of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

As promised, coach Michael Johnson made some changes to the line-up from the USA game in Minnesota, going with Dutch League import Torrell Ondaan, while Samuel Peter Cox wore the captain’s armband. Out from the previous game were Brandon Beresford and Keanu Marsh-Brown.

Though some pundits questioned why the former Jamaican International didn’t make some changes in the defence as well; changing Jordan Dover, his starting 11 played good enough to out-do Panama for the entire  first half.

Guyana’s continuous pressure on a ‘suspect’ Panamanian  defensive line paid off in the 33rd minute when Ondaan – who had a superb game playing on the wing – after a build up with Dover, collected a ball in the 18-yard and slipped it back to the right-back (Dover), who was brought down in the penalty area.

The referee wasted little time in pointing to the penalty spot. Johnson ensured that his most senior and seasoned player, Danns, was the one responsible for bringing Guyana level.

Danns, with entire stadium more so the Guyanese supporters who travelled to the Cleveland Browns home stadium to cheer him on, was composed, calm and didn’t show any nervousness, as he stroked home the country’s first-ever goal at a major CONCACAF men’s tournament.

However, Guyana’s celebration was short-lived, as Terence Vancooten, probably the team’s best defender, in an attempt to clear the ball, scored in his own goal in the 40th minute.

Guyana, though having several chances from Emery Welshman, Ondaan and Callum Harriott, headed back into the dressing room down one goal (2-1).

After a rather eventful first half, Guyana came out in the second stanza with the same energy but Panama showed why they had qualified for the last FIFA World Cup. They mounted the pressure on Golden Jaguars’ defence, but, Akel Clarke’s exceptional goalkeeping kept the Guyanese in the game.

Game-changing moment
All was well in the game. Panama continued their relentless hunt, while Guyana’s defence, marshalled by Matthew Briggs and Vancooten, stood firm; that’s until the 51st minute when Liam Gordon brought down one of Panama’s forwards in the ‘18’.

At the blast of the referee’s whistle, Clarke made a dive to his right and pulled off a beautiful save. However, the assistant referee’s flag was raised, pointing out to the Jamaican referee, Daneon Parchmant, that the ‘GT’ keeper moved a little too soon from his goal line. However, when the replay was shown in the stadium, the result was otherwise.

Panama’s Eric Davis, on the re-take, found the net, much to the Guyanese players and their supporters’ displeasure, as the South Americans went up 3 – 1. Johnson, at the post-game press conference, chastised the officials for the decision, and also questioned why VAR (Video Assistant Referee) was not used in the competition.

Guyana didn’t offer much in the second half, though Johnson, making the right tactical substitution, brought in Stephen Duke McKenna for Elliot Bonds, Anthony Jeffrey for Ondaan and Keanu Marsh-Brown for Harriot.

Substitute Gabriel Torres put the icing on the cake in the match in the 86th minute, netting a neatly timed header.

“If I’m looking at effort and commitment, the performance of the team was of a different class; again they gave everything. What I was disappointed with was the way we utilised the ball. We weren’t efficient with it, we weren’t careful with it and the final goal started with a bad pass from us when in a comfortable possession with the ball,” Johnson told reporters after the game.

Johnson admitted that the team “could have passed the ball better but I think first half we showed what we can do. But it is just disappointing, because we gave away goals and we are not good enough to give the team three, four goals head-start. We are not good enough and until we start tightening up, this will happen.”

Guyana will now travel to Kansas City where they will take on Trinidad and Tobago on June 26. For Panama, their win against Guyana, coupled with the fact that the USA defeated the ‘Soca Warriors’ 4-0 last evening, sets up a mouthwatering encounter with the ‘Stars and Stripes’.

Starting X1: 1. Akel Clarke, 4. Elliot Bonds, 5. Jordan Dover, 8. Samuel Cox (c), 10. Emery Welshman, 11. Callum Harriot, 13. Liam Gordon, 15. Terrence Vancooten, 16. Neil Danns, 17. Torell Ondann, 20. Matthew Briggs.

Substitutions: 18. Alex Murray, 22. Quillan Roberts, 2. Kevin Layne, 3. Daniel Wilson, 6. Ronyane Marsh-Brown, 7. Keanu Marsh-Brown, 9. Sheldon Holder, 12. Pernel Schultz, 14. Daniel Wilson, 19. Stephen Duke-McKenna, 21. Brandon Beresford, 23. Anthony Jeffrey.