Reggae Boyz win 5-0 in Group A

The home team, with goals from Andy Williams in the ninth minute, Fabian Taylor in the 11th, Cornel Chin-Sue in the 38th, Claude Davis in the 56th and Omar Daley in the 62nd, hammered St Lucia 5-0, while in the opening game of the double-header, Haiti defeated Martinique 2-1. Jamaica’s technical director Carl Brown, who has been under pressure following a four-game run at the start of the year in which the team failed to win a match, was satisfied with the performance. "I believe the team deserved what they got out there tonight," Brown said after the game.

"They pressured the team.... they started out well.... the early goal was the right tonic that we wanted," he said.

"This is the sort of momentum that you need in a tournament like this.... your first game.... you want to get out there and do well," he added. St Lucia’s coach Kingsley Armstrong was understandably deflated. "It’s not the kind of start that I was hoping for," he said. Armstrong however conceded that the Jamaican team was "a good bunch".

"They did well on the night, you could see that the professionals made a difference. On the night we were really outclassed," Armstrong said.

In the earlier match, a brace from Haitian captain, Jean Rebert Menelas, led his country to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Martinique. Jean Jacques Pierre gave Martinique a dream start with a fifth-minute strike, but Menelas with goals in the 22nd and 69th minutes, made sure his team came out victorious. Martinique’s assistant coach, Alonzeau Henri lamented his team’s performance. "We just didn’t play our type of football tonight.... we were kicking the ball long when we should be passing it around," he said. (CMC)