Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
DaMarcus Beasley (right) of the US shoots the ball past Jamaica's goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts (left) to score his second goal in their CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final in Foxboro, Massachusetts yesterday. The US won 3-1 to eliminate the Reggae Boyz from the event. - REUTERS
FOXBORO, Massachusetts:
JAMAICA CRASHED out of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 3-1 defeat to the United States in their quarter-final match-up at the Gillette Stadium here yesterday.
"I must say I'm disappointed that we're out of the competition," Jamaica's coach, Wendell Downswell, said after the game.
"Overall it was a tremendous experience participating in the Gold Cup tournament. For a young squad gearing towards 2010 we have seen a lot of positives in terms of the team's performance. We've created a positive impact and I think the future looks bright for Jamaica's football," he said. Left-sided midfielder DaMarcus Beasley led the way by scoring two goals and providing an assist for Josh Wolff.
Beasley admitted that the game went according to plan by exploiting the unsteady defence of the Jamaicans, who have travelled heavily throughout this tournament from Los Angeles to Houston then on to Massachusetts, where they arrived after 11:00 p.m. on Thursday.
"It turned out exactly the way we wanted. We knew that they get disorganised in the back so we wanted to utilise myself and Stevie (Cherundolo) on the flanks and we knew that (John) O'Brien and (Landon) Donovan would have a lot of space. It worked perfectly in our game plan and we are excited to be going into the semi-finals.
"We knew they'd be tired from the travelling coming from Houston so we kept moving the ball. They have a good team."
GOOD GOAL
Ricardo Fuller scored a well-deserved goal for the Reggae Boyz to cap an outstanding match, but by time he had won a tackle and dribbled to Kasey Keller and placed a shot past him, victory was already out of the question in the 88th minute.
Andy Williams missed a crucial penalty for Jamaica seconds after the US had scored their first goal as Keller came up with the save, and US striker Donovan also missed a penalty but that came in time added on at the end of the second half with the scoreline already decided.
US coach Bruce Arena said: "Kasey Keller's save on the penalty kick was a big play in this game".
Both teams also had a player sent off with the US losing Ben Olsen for pulling down Williams at the 58th minute, and 19-year-old Jermaine Taylor taking a straight red for a meaningless half line challenge on Beasley that showed his inexperience and let total domination slip from his team that was pressuring strongly and looking likely to score at any minute. It was Jamaica's third red card in four matches at the tournament.
Beasley scores in the 42nd and 83rd minutes and Wolff's sixth-minute strike contributed to a winning 3-1 lead for the hosts, who advanced to Wednesday's semi-finals where they will play Honduras, who beat Central American counterparts Costa Rica in the first semi-final at the same venue 3-2.
The other semi-finalists will be decided today when South Africa play Panama and Mexico match up against Colombia in the remaining quarter-finals, at Houston Reliant Stadium later.
TEAMS:Jamaica: 30-Donovan Ricketts (GK), 3-Damion Stewart, 4-Jermaine Taylor, 5-Tyrone Sawyers, 6-Robert Scarlett, 9-Andrew Williams, 10-Ricardo Fuller, 14-Tyrone Marshall, 17-Jermaine Hue, 18-Khari Stephenson, 21-Luton Shelton.
United States: 18-Kasey Keller (GK), 3-Greg Vanney, 4-Oguchi Onyewu, 5-John O'Brien, 6-Steve Cherundolo, 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 10-Landon Donovan, 12-Jimmy Conrad, 16-Josh Wolff, 19-Steve Ralston, 25-Pablo Mastroeni.
