Young Reggae Girlz play to 1-1 draw with Panama

The Hugh Bradford-coached young Reggae Girlz played to a 1-1 draw with Panama on match day one of the 2023 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Group E qualifiers at Sabina Park last night.

Panama looked the brighter of the two teams throughout the encounter and sent out a warning as early as the 10th minute when Naikelys Navarro's effort crashed into the crossbar. A minute later Panama would go 1-0 up as Alison Onodera’s effort was mishandled by the Reggae Girlz custodian Sanjane Anderson. Jamaica, however, despite the lack of many goal scoring opportunities, had their equaliser in the 40th minute when Olivia Ashbourne scored from the penalty spot.

In the second half, both teams kept each other at arm's length as chances grew few and far between. The only real goal scoring opportunity came in the 66th minute when Kryshanna Reid's effort went just wide of the Panamanian goal.

Head coach Bradford believes the team can bounce back for Sunday’s must win affair in order to qualify for the under-17 championships.

“The game was good. Based on the preparation you could see the players were trying to knock the ball around. However, the fitness level has got to be better,"Bradford said. "They were trying to play and support each other so hopefully on Sunday, we can put it together.”

The young Reggae Girlz will be looking to book a spot at the Concacaf Under-17 Championships with a win tomorrow against their Group E rivals. Coach Bradford added that there are a few tweaks that can be made in order to have a much better performance.

“The biggest adjustment we have to make is to ensure that the players are fully recovered from the first match. As you can see, they were getting tired and they were getting cramps and knocks,” Bradford said.

The return leg against Panama will also be played at Sabina Park tomorrow with kick off set for 4 p.m.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com