CONCACAF U17 Men’s World Cup Qualifiers…

THE Junior Jaguar’s U-17 squad currently battling in the CONCACAF U17 Men’s World Cup Qualifiers earned another point after their latest match-up in group B against Costa Rica on Thursday in Costa Rica.

The host took the early advantage through a disastrous own goal just after the opening whistle.
Max Robinson intercepted a pass in the penalty area which he quickly converted into the lead of the match.

Guyana’s Joshua Morris managed to find the equaliser in the 38th with a header in the box of a set piece from the corner.
Costa Rica was not done as Marcus Brown regained the cushion in the 43rd with a free kick goal.

One of the country’s best striker Shaquan David in the 54th minute came to the fore with another headed goal to again tie things up 2-2.
Despite having good possession in the match, the Guyanese unit could not close out the clash.
In the end when the final whistle was blown Guyana earned a point.

Meanwhile national U-17 football head coach Marco Bonofiglio says given quality of the opposition, Guyana showed they can compete at a high level.
“I think what we see here Guyana can compete against the top teams at the top level, remember that Costa Rica is a top team who has performed at world cups before and yesterday (Thursday) showed that they are a top team in CONCACAF, if not one of the top teams in North and South America. I’m very proud of Guyana, the way they implemented our plans, we stuck to our objectives that we have been working on for 3-4 weeks now, they showed they could persevere under high stress moments against high caliber team in high caliber tournaments.”
The coach added that his side has shown improvement and mental acumen and expect them to be ready for the next opposition on Sunday.

“Their mental preparation from what I have seen from the first day to now has been a huge increase and desire and the ability to remain focus and complete the objectives that coach and coaching staff ask of players is very positive.”

He further noted, “looking ahead to the final game, I see another tough match, British Virgin Islands is another tough team as well and a very physical team similar to Trinidad and Tobago, I’m looking to the team to step up and finish the tournament strongly, we are undefeated at this point, we would like to continue that and the boys are very hungry to collect three points.”
Coach Bonofiglio says fatigue is starting to affect the players along with minor injuries but they are staying positive and intend to put in the effort for a good result.

The U17 side opened their campaign against Trinidad with a 1-1 draw before beating St Maarten 3-nil.
The junior jags return to the field on Sunday for their final match of the tournament, facing off against the British Virgin Islands.

Kickoff is set at 18 hours.
The team is led by Team Manager Andrew Nestor, with Marco Bonofiglio serving as Head Coach.