Jamaica stuns Mexico to reach Gold Cup final
PASADENA, California: After Kemar Lawrence ripped an exquisite shot over Mexico’s five-man wall and into the top corner for one of the biggest goals in Jamaican soccer history, the defender hushed his teammates and refused to celebrate.
These Reggae Boyz are staying cool, even after a goal that sent them into the CONCACAF Gold Cup final with a chance to make history.
Lawrence scored on a clutch 24-yard free kick in the 88th minute, and Jamaica advanced to the final with a 1-0 upset victory over Mexico on Sunday night.
“I think our guys were hungry,” Jamaica coach Theodore Whitmore said. “They needed it more than the Mexicans, and we did what we had to do.”
Jamaica will face the US on Wednesday night at Santa Clara, California. With a victory over the home team, the Reggae Boyz would claim their first championship in soccer’s North and Central American and Caribbean region.
“The best way I could put it is the Biblical story,” Whitmore said. “David slew Goliath.”
The Reggae Boyz have reached the final for the second straight Gold Cup, but this stunning upset at the Rose Bowl ranks among their biggest international wins. Mexico has won seven Gold Cup titles, the US five and Canada one.
“That’s a cycle we want to break,” Whitmore said. “That’s something we sit and discuss. It’s always Mexico, US. We want to be in that group. We want to be a team, a country that someone can talk about, and that’s what we’re working toward.”
Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake kept this game scoreless with a series of impressive saves while Mexico dominated possession with a lineup missing most of El Tri’s most-accomplished players.
But after Lawrence repositioned the ball in a bit of shifty gamesmanship, his late strike froze Mexico goalkeeper Jesus Corona. The ball curled over the wall and slipped just below the bar for the New York Red Bulls defender’s third international goal and first in three years.
The 24-year-old Lawrence does not take free kicks for his MLS club, but Whitmore knew his quality from recent practices.
“The New York Red Bulls probably have a better kicker than Kemar Lawrence,” Whitmore said with a smile. “Now, Jamaica’s team needs Kemar Lawrence in dead-ball situations. It’s a totally different thing. Probably when the New York Red Bulls see this tonight, they might (want him) to take free kicks.”
Trying to win its second consecutive Gold Cup and fourth in five tournaments, Mexico used the deeper reaches of its player pool following the World Cup qualifiers and the Confederations Cup last month. While teams were allowed to make up to six substitutions for the knockout rounds, El Tri coach Juan Carlos Osorio said he was blocked by Mexico’s clubs.
Mexico had not trailed in the tournament before Lawrence’s late goal, but El Tri also had not been impressive — no player scored more than one goal.
“This is a process, and it takes a lot of work to get a team that can compete in a World Cup,” assistant coach Luis Pompilio Paez said. “This is not a sufficient result, but this is the middle of the process. I saw a team that gave everything. We always respect what the other team does. We just needed to get a goal, and we didn’t have the right circumstances. Embarrassment, sadness — as a team, we feel it.”