SAN JOSE, California — Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz shook off their sluggish opener and, with a burst of resolve, overturned a one-goal deficit to defeat Guadeloupe 2-1 in Friday night’s CONCACAF Gold Cup clash at PayPal Park.
Group C now reads like a three-horse race: Jamaica, Panama, and Guatemala are locked on three points apiece pending their head-to-head later this evening, while Guadeloupe face the exit after back-to-back losses.
The script flipped inside a frenetic first half:
- 32′ — A clever short-corner routine caught Jamaica napping, and Thierry Ambrose poked Guadeloupe ahead.
- 41′ — Leon Bailey, electric on the right flank, answered with a skimming left-foot drive from the arc that froze keeper Brice Cognard.
- 45+2′ — Midfielder Jon Russell rose to meet Demarai Gray’s teasing cross, steering a textbook header into the far corner to hand Jamaica the advantage they would not relinquish.
While the scoreline stood still after the interval, the drama escalated. Captain Andre Blake produced two highlight-reel saves—first clawing a point-blank effort off the line with a backwards left hand, then stonewalling Ambrose again with his legs in stoppage time—to preserve the result and collect man-of-the-match honours.
Jamaica’s performance was far from polished—possession was plentiful but cohesion intermittent—but Theodore Whitmore’s side discovered the ruthlessness required in tournament football. With momentum restored, the Boyz head into their Panama showdown knowing another three points would all but secure a quarter-final berth and, perhaps more importantly, remind the region that Jamaica remain very much contenders rather than spectators at this Gold Cup.
