Photo: David Todd
For the first time ever, the Guyana national team played in the United States at the first men’s international friendly. The game was held at KSU Soccer Stadium Wednesday night as Guatemala defeated Guyana 3 goals to none in the opening match of NAPA Auto Parts presents El Patron International Soccer Series.
The match marks the opening of four international contests this month at the brand-new, 8,300 seat soccer-specific stadium. Guatemala is back on US soil for the first time in five years, while Guyana never before played on U.S. soil.
The build-up to this game was no disappointment as the players put on a fast-paced exciting match that kept all 4,124 fans on their feet. It took only a few minutes for teams to grow accustomed to the atmosphere, and by the twentieth minute, both looked sharp and crisp on the ball.
The first goal came from Guatemala in the twenty-third minute when Trnsito Montepeque caught a roller from Guyanese goalkeeper Jason Lloyd and burried the ball in the lower left corner. Six minutes later, Guatemalan star Guillermo Ramirez broke away from the Guyananese defense to go one-on-one with Lloyd. After a quick hesitation, Ramirez slid the ball under a diving Lloyd to put away his first goal of the night, notching Guatemala’s second.
Guyana looked to answer early in the second half with some well-placed shots on and around the goal in addition to a multitude of corner kick opportunities. Sean Cameron and Chris Bourne took the majority of the corner kicks, but Guatemala did well to continually clear the ball out of the 18 yard box.
In the 64th minute, Ramirez scored his second goal of the night on an assist from Lester Ruiz. Goal three prompted a Guyana keeper change, replacing Jason Lloyd with Derick Carter. Also, shortly after the goal, Guatemala pulled Ramirez from the game, sending in Mario Castellanos. Even without Ramirez, Guatemala continued to generate an attackwhile Carter made some great diving saves to hold Guatemala scoreless during his appearance.
International competition continues at KSU Soccer Stadium with the Torneo de las Americas, which features Under-20 mens national teams from Colombia, Mexico, and the United States, begins next weekend.
Tickets start at $14 per match during the three day round robin tournament as the U.S faces Colombia on Friday, Nov. 26. Colombia takes on Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 27, and the weekend concludes with the U.S. hosting Mexico in the finale. All games kick-off at 3:30PM
Quotables
“We cant make these kinds of mistakes and expect to win.”
–Coach Dover (Guyana)
“Im happy that I had the Guatemalan fans support, and Im happy that I was able to score to show my team that we are a good team”
–Guillermo Ramirez, Guatemala team captain
