OMARI Glasgow inspired Guyana to a 5 – 1 win over the US Virgin Islands yesterday in the Dominican Republic, in the on-going CONCACAF U-20 Championship Qualifiers.
Heading into the contest, Coach Wayne Dover was optimistic that Guyana would bounce back from their opening game performance, which saw them playing to a goalless stalemate against the Cayman Islands.
The team’s captain, given his experience of playing with the senior men’s National team, showed why he’s considered one of Guyana’s brightest prospects, when he opened his account in the 34th minute to give Guyana an advantage.
Glasgow then extended the team’s lead in the 41st minute, and then assisted Deron Niles five minutes later to give Guyana a 3 – 0 cushion at half time.
Guyana was playing with 10 men after Perry Gual was given marching orders in the 20th minute for punching a USVI player in full view of the fourth official.
With Guyana having to resort to a more defensive posture, Neqwan Henry pulled one back for the USVI when he converted from the penalty spot in the 55th minute, following a ‘handball’ violation by a Guyanese defender inside the ‘18’.
However, the USVI’s celebration was short-lived, as Glasgow, showing his superiority on the pitch, using his quickness, completed his hat-trick with a clinical finish in the 57th minute.
But he wasn’t done. The Fruta Conquerors player would notch up another assist when he found Ravi Coates in a ‘give-and-go’ play that resulted in Guyana going up 5 – 1 in the 88th minute.
Meanwhile, looking ahead, Glasgow will have to replicate or better yesterday’s performance against Nicaragua tomorrow, especially since the Central Americans had opened their campaign with a 7 – 0 win over the USVI.
Following his side’s victory over the USVI, Coach Dover said the win puts Guyana in a position to compete against Nicaragua for a chance to advance to the Championship round.
“Im really happy that the players came out and fought a good fight to get this three points with some goals also,” Dover said.
Following the conclusion of the Qualifiers, a total of 20 teams will participate at the CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship in the summer of 2022.
This will include the top four teams from the Qualifiers and the region’s top 16 ranked teams (based on the CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Rankings) who receive a bye to the Championship.
The 2022 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship will qualify its semi-finalists (four teams) to the FIFA Men’s U-20 World Cup Indonesia 2023 and its finalists (two teams) to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.