Jamaica won the CFU Caribbean Cup Football Championship on Tuesday night, defeating Trinidad & Tobago 4-3 on penalties.
Both sides failed to score during regulation and extra time in the match, played at Catherine Sports Complex in Montego Bay, but the Reggae Boyz dominated play for the most part while creating and missing far more chances than the Soca Warriors.
This forced the game into the pulsating penalty shootout to separate the teams and decide the championship, where the Reggae Boyz, despite Michael Keaton missing the team’s third penalty, held their nerves a bit better than their arch rivals to come out winners when skipper Rodolph Austin drove home his penalty.
The Reggae Boyz under coach Winfried Schaefer are now set to become battle hardened with crucial tournaments over the next 18 months to be ready for the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers in June 2016.
Jamaica has qualified for the CONCACAF GOLD CUP tournament next year and was specially invited to participate in the Copa America Tournament also in 2015. By virtue of winning the Caribbean Cup, the Reggae Boyz have gained an automatic berth to the CONMEBOL Centenary Cup in 2016 featuring teams from South America.
The World Cup qualifiers begin after the Centenary tournament.
