Friday, August 8, 2008 – Providence Stadium, Guyana: The Lights at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence was christened in grand style on Friday evening when the ‘Golden Jaguars’ proved to be too strong for Dominica winning 3-0 in the opening game of group B in the 2008 Digicel Caribbean Championship (DCC).

Guyana Nigel Codrington 20th min & 43rd min Glenorvan Edmonds 36th min	3-0	Dominica
13 02 06 06 02 00 00	Shots on target Shots off target Corners Fouls Offsides Yellow cards Red cards	05 06 04 05 03 02 00

Leading the victory charge for the Guyanese team was 2006/7 DCC leading goal scorer and T&T Pro League player Nigel ‘Powers’ Codrington who blasted a double while debutant Glenorvan Edmonds also made his debut a memorable one by scoring the other goal.

An exciting crowd witnessed the action as it unfolded under lights for the very first time at this facility.

The visitors (Dominica) never looked threatening as the Jaguars took control of their territory in commanding style as they dictated the pace of the game by holding on to the ball with multiple passes from the left to the right side among the defenders and midfield.

Dominica tried their best to get into a rhythm but were allowed to do so by the Guyanese.

As the game progressed the home team began to build momentum and started to dominate proceedings with a few bright build ups in the Dominica half of play.

The opening goal came after 20 minutes and it was a fierce right foot shot from Codrington that rocketed into the roof of the net off the pass from Walter Moore who played a midfield role rather than his usual defensive position.

Also making debuts were defender Kestor Jacobs who plays with Neal & Massey Caledonia AIA in the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League and local based Devon Millington who plays with Western Tigers.

After the opening goal the Guyanese began to assert themselves even more by controlling the flow of the game and created lots of space to work the ball around.

All along the debutants, Jacobs and Edmonds were looking more and more confident playing alongside seasoned campaigners, Captain, Charles Pollard, Howard Lowe, Collie Hercules, Codrington Moore and Konata Mannings.   

Edmonds looked comfortable in midfield and made some enterprising runs forward. He made his presence felt in no uncertain terms when he blasted a neat pass from Codrington past Dominica’s goalkeeper and captain Glenson Prince in the 36th minute, a big moment for the young player in front of his home fans.

Seven minutes later, the hungry and lurking Codrington, powered in his second goal which handed Guyana a 3-0 advantage. He clinically finished off a pass from fellow strike partner Dwight Peters in the 43rd minute.      

The second half did not produce many anxious moments as Dominica did not allow the Jaguars to be as dominant as they were in the first half.

The home team too, was guilty of being too laid back and were not pressing forward with any urgency. Codrington had the opportunity of hitting a hat trick when he was given the opportunity of shooting a penalty after Dwight Peters was brought down in the box.

His shot was parried away to the right side by Prince who enjoyed a very good game between the uprights despite the score line.

Hercules too, missed out on the chance to add his name to the score sheet when he missed a sitter in the box following another enterprising run by Moore down the left side. His square pass was missed by Hercules.          

Dominica had a few good raids on the Jaguars’ goal. One such attempt was kicked off the line by the alert Guyanese captain Pollard with about five minutes to game time.

When the final whistle was sounded, the score read, Guyana 3, Dominica 0.

With Guyana now sitting at the top of the points table on 3 points, Dominica and Suriname will meet in the second game of the group on Saturday evening at the same venue.

The final group clash will be played on Sunday evening between the Golden Jaguars and Suriname. The group winner will advance to the next round of the competition.

Guyana: 2. Richard Reynolds, 3. Howard Lowe, 4. Kester Jacobs, 5. Walter Moore, 8. Carey Harris, 9. Konata Mannings, 11. Collie Hercules, 13. Charles Pollard, 14. Dwight Peters, (17. Nigel Codrington 20th min & 43rd min), (18. Glenorvan Edmonds 36th min).  

Subs: (12. Shawn Bishop), (7. Brion Baker), (19. Devon Millington)

Dominica: 1. Glenson Prince, 2. Macaza White, 3. Prince Austrie, 4. Eleme Nelson, 8. Jerome Thomas, 9. Lester Langlais, 10. Mitchell Joseph, 11. Kurlson Benjamin, 14. Paul Victor, 15. Pharo Cuffy, 17. Euclid Bertrand

Subs: (16. Earsan Fontaine), (13. Kimon Joseph), (7. Wayne George)    

For match pictures and further information visit www.digicelfootball.com.