Saborio’s hat-trick tames Golden Jaguars

By Avenash Ramzan

Alvaro Saborio took advantage of some loose goalkeeping from Ronson Williams to help his team to a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Guyana’s Golden Jaguar last evening in their in Group B match of the third round of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers at the National Stadium, Providence.
He netted a hat-trick while Joel Campbell added a single strike as the Guyanese were given a thorough football lesson by the Central American side.
Playing in front of a boisterous, near-capacity crowd decked out in yellow in support of the Golden Jaguars, the hosts flattered to deceive, with the main culprit being the lanky Williams standing guard within the uprights.
While the margin of victory is emphatic at face value, the result could have been quite the opposite had it not been for Williams’ inept judgment, and the fact that Guyana failed to convert several goal scoring opportunities.
As the Golden Jaguars made their way out to the field to rapturous applause, they threatened to seize the early initiative with two shots at goal in the opening minutes, the closest of which was a header from JP Rodrigues that went metres away from the uprights.
Ricky Shakes also brought the crowd to life with some superb build-ups, but poor finishing was a major area of concern for the home team, that suffered their second loss in as many matches in this round, following the 1-3 defeat at the hands of CONCACAF giants Mexico last Friday.
Despite those early chances at goal, and a few others during the course of the 90 minutes, the entire complexion of the game changed from the 20th minute when Saborio received a pass from the right flank, and duly tapped in and gave the tourists the lead.
If there was any solace for Williams on the night was the fact that he slipped on the way out of the box as Saborio was about to receive, and did not recover in time.
What transpired thereafter was what many at the venue termed “goalkeeping blunders” as the Costa Ricans took advantage of some sloppy work from Williams, coupled with some poor defensive work.
Saborio again happened to be in the right position in the 26th minute, when he received a pass, beating Williams all ends up at his back post with a header.
Saborio’s third goal was almost a carbon copy, but the nail on the coffin was a simple lob from Campbell over the head of an advancing Williams in the 77th minute. That final goal seemingly broke the spirit of the spectators that started marching out of the venue, perhaps with the thought that enough was enough.
At the post-match conference, Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz shared his thoughts of Williams’ performance.
“Well, it could have been better, but he’s a work in progress, and this is a new level for him. Games like these people learn the finer points of when to come off the line, when to stay on the line. I can’t throw him to the wolves, I think he’s a decent keeper; he’s the best keeper that we have, and he will learn from this experience.
For us, blows that don’t break the back will strengthen it, and you know, this is a new level for us. We accept the defeat and will come again. We can’t be light-hearted and weak.”