Costa Rica Beat Out Jamaica, 1-0 In Gold Cup Action

It took a long stretch of time for Costa Rica to break down a bunkering Jamaica squad which had gone a man down, but the Ticos were finally able to do it in the 64th minute of the match, claiming a 1-0 win in Group A action and leaving the Reggae Boyz eliminated from the tournament.

First Half

It was a tight match from the start, as Costa Rica and Jamaica have traditionally played close games. In their most recent meetings, in fact, the two teams have battled to draws in their last pair of meetings.

After losses in the opening games, the pair of teams was looking for redemption. Jamaica had failed to score a goal in a tight 1-0 loss to Canada, while Costa Rica had given up a late goal to lose 2-1 to El Salvador.

The physical nature of the match kicked in early on, as the squads did not hesitate to go directly at each other. Jamaica had the better of the early going, thanks largely to the speed in the attack of Colorado Rapids player Omar Cummings. In the 14th minute, Cummings shot from outside and earned a corner for the Reggae Boyz off a deflection.

In the 20th minute, however, an outside shot by Costa Rica was parried well by Donovan Ricketts. He then scrambled to stop another shot but this time the crossbar saved him. It was a tricky ball, though, as off the bounce it descended and hit the crossbar again, but the Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper had the play covered.

During the 29th minute, Cummings also hit the crossbar, as his shot deflected off a Costa Rican defender and nearly went into the goal.

Things went downhill for Jamaica from there, however.

Tyrone Marshall, who regularly plays for the Seattle Sounders, was shown a yellow card in the 33rd minute.

It got worse for the Boyz, as three minutes later, Rudolph Austin saw a straight red from referee Jair Marrufo for climbing over the back of Celso Borges in his attempt to get the ball, and then kicking near the head of Borges as he sprawled on the ground.

An undermanned Jamaica squad still hung tough for the rest of the half, though it took a steller save from Ricketts on a Froylan Ledezma shot during injury time to keep the clean sheet.

Second Half

Jamaica subbed in fresh legs for the second half, bringing in Oniel Thompson and Jason Morrison.

The effort to keep the ball moving and Costa Rica from teeing up on the Jamaican goal was considerable, and it nearly paid off for the Reggae Boyz.

Costa Rica, however, finally managed their goal on a bit of a counter in the 64th.

The ball swung out wide to Pablo Herrera, whose square cross seemed to miss his intended target, who jumped for the header in vain.

As the orb dropped down, however, Celso Borges appeared in the area, completely unmarked and hit the ball first time into the goal. Rickets had the ball hit him, but couldn't keep the ball from bouncing hard off him and into the goal.

Though a goal and a man down, Jamaica kept battling, and Ricketts has perhaps his most impressive saves of the match trying to keep his team in the game.

Cummings threatened on a pair of occasions, but the chances were few and far between for the island squad.

Desperate to avoid elimination, Ricketts left his goal in the final ticks of the clock to come forward for a Jamaican corner, but it was all for naught, as the one-goal lead stood until the closing whistle.

With the three points, Costa Rica still have a chance to advance, but Jamaica cannot hope to do so.

Andrea Canales, Goal.comVisit Goal.com for more coverage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.