Costa Rica defeats Jamaica, 1-0, in friendly

The Costa Rican soccer team defeated Jamaica 1-0 on Tuesday, in a match that served both squads in preparation for the Gold Cup.

The Ticos beat the Reggae Boyz with the lone goal scored by right-back Keysher Fuller in the 29th minute.

¡Gooool de #LaSele 🇨🇷! Jugadón y Fuller con la anotación. pic.twitter.com/XO0BtW0UNp

— Teletica Deportes (@TeleticaTD7) March 27, 2019

For La Sele, the result was a vindication before its home fans after an unexpected defeat last Friday in Guatemala.

And perhaps it was due to that discouraging result that attendance at the National Stadium was far below capacity. 

Costa Rica started the match slowly, with missed passes and few dangerous actions with its only striker, Mayron George, who battled alone in the line of attack in the absence of midfield services.

His most dangerous partner in the attack was Joel Campbell, the talented midfielder for the Mexican club Tigres, who became the game’s most prominent player. 

The Ticos took about 20 minutes to start controlling the pace of the game.

Jamaica, with less control of the ball, had attacking opportunities thanks to the actions of the speedy and skilled Brian Brown and Maalique Foster. 

But Costa Rica opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a Fuller shot after a filtered pass from Campbell. 

The score allowed the locals to take confidence and begin to control the actions, with quick combinations of Ruiz, Campbell and Rónald Matarrita.

Early in the second half, the Reggae Boyz tried to regain control of the match, but it rarely challenged goalkeeper Keylor Navas’ goal.

Subsequently, the two coaches made numerous changes and Costa Rica coasted to victory. 

Lineups:

Costa Rica: Keylor Navas – Keysher Fuller (Ian Smith, 72nd minute), Giancarlo González, Kendall Waston (Juan Pablo Vargas, 76), Francisco Calvo – Celso Borges, Allan Cruz (José Mora, 64), Bryan Ruiz (José Ortiz, 83), Joel Campbell (Ronaldo Araya, 76), Ronald Matarrita (Ariel Lassiter, 64) – Mayron George. DT: Gustavo Matosas

Jamaica: A. Knight (J. White, 61) – Michael Hector, Ladale Richie, Alvas Powell, Dever Orgill – Junior Flemmings, Maalique Foster (J. East, 61), Shaun Francis, Damion Lowe – Brian Brown, Kevon Lambert. DT: Theodore Whitmore

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