Jamaica and South Africa played to a 3-3 draw Sunday in group play of the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament.
EFE
Jamaica vs. Sudafrica
10/JUL/2005 -The tie left the two nations atop the Group C standings with four points each. Mexico defeated Guatemala earlier in the day and now trails the leaders by one point with one match left in group action.
The draw revived Mexico's hopes of winning the group and defending its Gold Cup title after opening the tournament with a surprise loss to the South Africans. Mexico takes on group leader Jamaica Wednesday at Houston's Reliant Stadium.
Neither Jamaica nor South Africa was able to wrench control of Sunday's match despite the expulsion of South African midfielder Siboniso Gaxa in the 49th minute.
Jamaica dominated the first 30 minutes of play but good scoring opportunities by Jermaine Johnson, Robert Scarlett and Ricardo Fuller were thwarted by the strong play of the South African goalkeeper Thabani Radebe.
Despite the tempo being set by Jamaica, the Africans scored first on a long kick by striker Abram Raselemane in the 34th minute.
Jamaica's Jermaine Hue responded immediately with the equalizer on the next possession with a left-foot stroke inside the penalty box.
A pair of headers by South Africa's Lungisani Ndlela and Jamaica's Damian Stewart left the match knotted at two at the half. Both headers came off corner kicks.
In the second half, Jamaica once again controlled the midfield and dictated the action but it was South Africa that would score first on Siyabango Nomvete's goal on a counterattack in the 56th minute.
Jamaica seemed to underestimate the speed of their rivals who, despite being down a man, managed to continue to play solid defense.
After taking the lead, the 10-man South African side adopted a defensive posture that was bolstered by the play of Radebe, one of the squad's top players.
The strategy worked until the 79th minute when Teafore Bennett headed in a free kick to equalize the match at 3-3.
Of the three Group C teams still vying for a spot in the quarterfinals, South Africa only needs a draw against winless Guatemala to advance.
Jamaica can also qualify for the next round with a draw but it will have to do so against pre-tourney favorite Mexico in a Texas stadium full of opposing fans.
Lineups:
- 3 - Jamaica: Donovan Ricketts; Damion Stewart, Tyrone Marshall (Omar Daley, 82nd min.), Robert Scarlett, Jermaine Taylor; Tyrone Sawyers (Damani Ralph, 45th min.), Jermaine Johnson, Jermaine Hue (Teafore Bennett, 64th min.), Andree Williams; Ricardo Fuller and Khari Stephenson.
- 3 - South Africa: Thabani Radebe; Lucky Lekgwathi, Lucas Thwala, Philip Evans, Ricardo Katza, Siboniso Gaxa, Siyabonga Siphika, Elrio Van Heerden, Siyabango Nomvete, Lungisani Ndlela, Abram Raselemane (Craig Bianchi, 57th min.).
