Jamaica let a late second-half lead slip and ended up sharing the points with El Salvador in match seven of their CONCACAF World Cup qualifying at the Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador on Friday night (November 12).

Michail Antonio had given the Reggae Boyz the lead in the 82nd minute but were unable to hold it as Alex Roldan scored a brilliant header in the 90th minute, which meant that both teams fell further behind in the chase for qualification points after Panama rallied from two goals down to defeat Honduras 3-2 and Canada defeated Costa Rica 1-0.

Jamaica were lucky not to concede in the first half after being over-run in midfield with Bobby Reid and Anthony Grant losing possession often allowing the hosts to gain control of the match. In one sequence in the 39th minute, off a corner kick, El Salvador attempted two long-range shots, both of which hit the crossbar above Jamaica’s goalkeeper Andre Blake.

90TH-MINUTE EQUALIZER

Jamaica thought it may have had the winner with Antonio scoring his first-ever Jamaica goal late in the second half for a 1-0 lead. The attacker took the ball on the left-hand side of attack and charged forward, beating a pair of Salvadoran defenders and then before scoring with a clever chip over the onrushing goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez.

Roldan found the equalizer in the 90th minute when he headed in a cross from the right-hand side, with the ball tucking under the crossbar and going in.

The shared points mean that at the half-way mark of the final qualifying round, Jamaica and El Salvador are sixth and seventh, respectively, as both teams have six points and are in a three-way tie with Costa Rica, who are fifth on goal difference.

Meanwhile, Panama moved to 11 points with Canada in third place on 13.

The USA, meanwhile, moved to the top of the standings with a 2-0 victory over Mexico. Both teams have 14 points but the USA enjoys a better goal difference.

Jamaica will host the USA at the National Stadium in Kingston on Tuesday, November 16 while El Salvador travel to Panama.