Shelton happy to net opener

CARSON, California:

The build-up was slow and it took a bit of time to come, 21 minutes to be exact. But when Luton Shelton scored the first goal in Jamaica's 4-0 thrashing of Grenada on Monday night, you could see the joy on the face of the players as they clamoured over their teammate in celebration.

"It's the most important thing to get the first goal, to lift the pressure off of our team to move forward," admitted Shelton after the game at the Home Depot Centre. "So it's quite good for me."

Given the 55th-ranked Reggae Boyz's dominance of possession and game control, the goal was somewhat long in coming.

The goal marked an upward move in Jamaica's offensive plays as they increased the activity around Grenada's goalmouth and created a great deal of scoring opportunities.

Many fell to Shelton, who even admitted that he could have had a hat-trick.

"I got one with the defender when I tried to go one way and come back, and another when I tried to go for the top corner, and the next one was a one-two play and I tried to beat the keeper at the near post, when I should have gone for the far post. I could have scored a hat-trick," he pointed out.

Shelton, the country's all-time leading goalscorer with more than 32 goals, said it was important to start with a win.

"This is very important because it puts pressure on the other teams, knowing they will have to get a win. So another one (victory) could put us in the quarter-finals," he admitted of the result that put Jamaica top of the four-team Group B, on three points.

- A.B.