Sports
Jonathan Ramnanansingh
Trinidad and Tobago lost their opening Unity Cup tie 3-2 against Jamaica at Gtech Stadium in Brentford, England, on May 27.
A last-minute foul by goalkeeper Marvin Phillip allowed Jamaica a penalty three minutes into second-half extra time, which Reggae Boyz striker Richard King buried to break the 2-2 deadlock.
Kasey Palmer opened the scoring for Jamaica in the 25th minute after he converted a penalty as a result of a Jamal Jack foul on Renaldo Cephas. So it remained until the half-time break.
At the resumption, Rumarn Burrell scored (53rd) on debut with a low, overhead kick after Phillip parried a close-range effort into his path.
One minute later, TT striker Isaiah Leacock scored a close-range effort past Jamaica goalie Shaquan Davis to halve the deficit.
Fifteen minutes later, veteran striker Kevin Molino leveled the game when he headed into an empty net after latching on to a neat Rio Cardines free kick, which ricocheted off the lower left corner of the post, bounced off Davis’s foot and into Molino’s path.
TT had a better showing in the second half and with five minutes of time added on, it seemed destined to be decided via kicks from the penalty spot.
However, Phillip’s blunder in the dying moments, fouling a charging Cephas, allowed Jamaica to regain control of the tie and put it beyond the reach of the Warriors.
The result means TT will face the loser of the May 28 fixture between Ghana and Nigeria, on May 31. Jamaica play the winner on the same day, after the third-place contest.
