10-man Jamaica play goalless draw with Panama

Panama City, Sep 8 (IANS/CMC) Jamaica fell short of their objective to gain maximum points in their CONCACAF Football World Cup qualifying game but grabbed a point after a 0-0 draw with Panama.

Both teams also played to a 1-1 draw in its Hexagonal encounter March 22 in Kingston, Jamaica.

The Reggae Boyz currently sit at the bottom of the six-team qualifiers with three points and could miss out on a fourth-place finish and a playoff berth against Oceania winner New Zealand for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

Both Jamaica and Panama created numerous scoring opportunities Friday with the home team threatening from as early as the eighth minute with strikers Gabriel Torres and Cecilio Waterman. But the veteran Jamaican custodian Donovan Ricketts, in his 100th game for his country, neutralised all threats.

The Reggae Boyz launched periodic counter attacks through Luton Shelton and Marlon King in the 25th minute but the attempt was off target.

Panama tried to capitalise on the one-man advantage after Rodolph Austin was sent off in the 58th minute for a second

bookable offence.

The Jamaicans will have to take maximum points from their remaining three games including Tuesday's do-or-die encounter against table toppers Costa Rica at the National Stadium in Kingston.

Also Friday, the Costa Ricans snapped a 12-game winning streak by the United States with a 3-1 win in Tegucigalpa and Honduras sank Mexico deeper into misery with a 2-1 victory.

Costa Rica tops the table with 14 points, followed by the United States (13), Honduras (10), Mexico (8), Panama (7) and Jamaica (3).

--IANS/CMC

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