CONCACAF Group D Under-17 female World Cup qualifiers…Cuba beat Guyana 8-0 to advance to next round

Aug 14, 2017 Sports, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....vance-to-next-round/

Coach Castello proud of developing Lady Jags’ performance

By Calvin Chapman
Cuba demolished Guyana’s Lady Jags 8-0 in the third and final Group D game of the CONCACAF Female Under-17 World Cup qualifiers, played last evening at the Leonora Track and Field Facility.

Cuba, who drew against Barbados 0-0, needed to win against Guyana by 4 clear goals to advance to the next round after the Bajans had enjoyed a 5-1 win over the Lady Jags in the group opener, Wednesday last.
The Cubans came out attacking from the first whistle and they could’ve been 1-0 up as early as the 7th minute when Yeisika Hernandez Munoz missed an open header following a corner set piece. One minute later, midfielder Cespedes Espinosa, missed another great opportunity for the Cubans from within the 6 yard box following a superb pass from right winger Valdes Sarmiento.
The match was beginning to shadow the Cubans performance against Barbados in which they created many challenges but failed to score. Sarmiento was one of the chief culprits but she compensated against the inexperienced Jaguars and scored a brace, including the opening goal. That first goal came in the 23rd minute before Cuba’s captain Baeza Dominguez doubled their lead two minutes later in the 25th minute.
As expected, Cuba dominated the half and it wasn’t until the 43rd minute that the Lady Jags had their first shot on target when 12-year-old attacking midfielder Jelade Trim got in behind their defence. However, her shot was fired tamely into the arms of Acea Rodriguez, Cuba’s goalkeeper.
Cuba’s Sarmiento continued to trouble Guyana’s defence and she displayed much better finishing than her previous match when she scored just on the stroke of half time to take the Cubans lead to 3-0.
Main Striker Aldana Tamayo didn’t start the game for Cuba but she was substituted into the game for the second half, replacing an out of sorts Gongora Zayas. With the Cubans needing at least 1 more goal to qualify for the next round, Tamayo played aggressive with eyes only for goal, bombarding Lady Jags’ goalkeeper, Vicky Jonnannis, with a flurry of shots.
Shortly after Guyana had their second and final shot on target in the 54th minute when Jelade Trim got in behind Cuba’s defence once again, but had her shot blocked by the advancing, Acea Rodriguez, Tamayo went on a rampage.
Aldana Tamayo scored the next 4 goals for Cuba. The first was most important in the 62nd minute that took Cuba’s tally to 4 which was enough to see them through to the next round. She then went on to score three goals in the space of 5 minutes; her second in the 73rd minute, the hat-trick strike in the in the 75th and the fourth and final goal in the 78th minute. The score was a boastful 7-0 when Tamayo completed her helmet-trick, but Ponce Barrios was determined to be part of the action and was the final player on the score card to take Cuba’s tally to 8 goals.
At the post match presser, young Lady Jags, Jelade Trim, humbly stated, “We didn’t win (against Cuba) but at least we tried for our country.”
Guyana’s coach Akilah Castello explained the fact that, “Cuba were more sound technically and we definitely have to work on our tactics and technique.” Despite two heavy defeats in group D, coach Castello expressed pleasure in the Lady Jags’ performance, “I’m very proud of them, I didn’t expect them to hold it up for 90 minutes in which they did in both games. Also they had to learn a lot in a very limited time which is a big plus for the potential of this team (Lady Jags Under-17) going forward (in the future).”
Cuba will advance to the next round of qualification for the 2018 Under-17 female World Cup that will be held in Uruguay.