MIAMI, Florida – The 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship Qualifiers continued on Saturday with action in Group C and Group D.
Bermuda and Barbados played out a thrilling affair in Group C in which there were two goals in second half stoppage time, with Bermuda taking the three points in a 3-2 win.
Kevon Lucas (35’) had Barbados in front first, but Bermuda rallied with goals from Jarryd Richardson (38’) and Keyni Mills (41’) to take a 2-1 lead that held until the final minutes. Barbados thought they had grabbed a draw with a goal from Zuhri Morris in the 90+1’, but just a minute later in the 90+2’ Stefan Jones delivered the dramatic winner.
Also, of note in Group C was that the match between Puerto Rico and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines did not take place due to Puerto Rico failing to produce the required Covid-19 PCR test in compliance with the competition’s regulations. Per competition regulations, the match was declared a forfeit of 3-0 in favor of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Group D kicked off with a hard-fought contest between Guyana and Cayman Islands that ended in a 0-0 draw, with Guyana playing the final 32 minutes with 10 men due to a red card for Yohance Douglas.
The stars on the day were the two GKs in action, as Guyana’s Ronaldo Blair and Cayman Islands counterpart Leandre Mckay each made a number of big saves to secure a point for their side.
Sitting atop Group D at present is Nicaragua following their 7-0 triumph over U.S. Virgin Islands. Keylon Batiz (7’, 25’) and Jareck Caceres (27’, 80’) each had a brace, while Widman Talavera (33’), Manuel Gutierrez (36’) and Darwin Corrales (84’) chipped in with scores.
Group A and Group B return to the field of play on Sunday, with Dominica taking on Grenada and Curacao meeting Sint Maarten in Group A, while in Group B Belize will face Saint Lucia and host nation Dominican Republic will tangle with Saint Martin.
