Reggae Boyz crash out of Gold Cup

The Reggae Boyz crashed out of the Concacaf Gold Cup at the first stage last night after an embarrassing 4-1 defeat by Panama in their final Group C match at the Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, USA.

Jamaica failed to reach the second round for the first time in six tournaments after a first half Ismael Diaz hat-trick gave the Central Americans a 3-1 lead. Diaz scored in the fourth and 17th minutes to give Panama a dream start, and although A'mari'i Bell pulled a goal back in the the 27th, Diaz made it 3-1 from the spot in the 45th minute, before Thomas Rodriguez put the icing on the cake with an 89th-minute goal.

The Boyz finished third in the group on three points, three behind second-place Guatemala, who defeated Guadeloupe 3-2. While Panama topped the group with maximum nine points.

Diaz was credited with the opening goal after his deflected strike from 25 yards deceived Andre Blake. The attacker would add a second after weaving his way into the Jamaican penalty area and slamming a low shot under the usually reliable Blake.

Jamaica still had some fight, however, and pulled back a goal in the 27th minute through Bell, who headed home after some good work and a great delivery from Dexter Lembikisa on the right.

Warner Brown and Kasey Palmer also had good opportunities, but an overly anxious Brown failed to make clean contact from just outside the six-yard area, while goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera went full stretch to deny Palmer's precise effort from the edge of the box.

Jamaica conceded a penalty just before the break, when Palmer brought down Azaria Londono in the box, and Diaz slotted home the penalty to restore Panama's two-goal cushion

The Reggae Boyz thought they had a penalty of the own in first half stoppage time, when Brown was fouled in the area, but after a lengthy seven-minute stoppage the referee decided the incident did not warrant a spot kick.

Panama came out in the second half and controlled the tempo of the game. The Boyz, however, showed some initiative of their own and Renaldo Cephas should have had a penalty after he was pulled back in the box.

Cephas then had a great opportunity in the 69th minute, after he found space just outside the area, but his weak shot presented no trouble for Mosquera in goal.

Kaheim Dixon made his presence felt moments after coming on, slamming a low shot against the post before Cephas' follow-up effort was turned out for a corner.

Rodriguez then broke away in the final minute and slotted into an unguarded net to seal Panama's win.