Wollaston ... scored for the Jamaican team. - File

BROOKLYN, New York (CMC):

In what has been described as their best display this season, Haiti held defending champions Jamaica to a 2-2 draw Sunday to win Zone I of the New York Caribbean Football Cup.

Two goals down half hour into the final match of Sunday's triple header at the Jefferson High School Stadium, Haiti staged a massive rearguard action in staving off defeat to the three-time Cup champions, to emerge winners of Zone I, with 11 points, two points ahead of the second-placed New York Reggae Boyz.

The draw earned Haiti a bye in the quarter-finals of the 12-team championship.

Undeterred by Jamaica's aggression and 2-0 lead, Haiti continued to press forward and earned their first goal off the boot of striker Blaise Schneider in the 31st minute. But they had to wait until the 60th minute to find the equaliser through a penalty conversion by Ednelson Anderson.

Lost lustre

Though Jamaica lost much lustre in the second half, Haiti were still unable to find the winning goal, as the Reggae Boyz held them at bay.

Earlier, Jamaica had signalled their intention for a wide victory margin when they took the lead just four minutes after kick-off through a Brian Woolaston drive from the left flank. And 23 minutes later, captain Marco Hamilton strengthened the Jamaican lead by eluding Haitian goal keeper Dorleans Shelson to slot home.

"I feel good," Francis Gerard, the Haitian head coach, told CMC Sport in a post-match interview.

"We are going to continue to practice very hard to win the championship."

Jetty Mikes, Jamaica's coach, said Haiti capitalised on Jamaica's blunders.

"We gave up too many loose balls in the midfield to Haiti," he said. "That's how they capitalised on their first goal."

Mikes, however, remained confident that Jamaica would successfully defend the Cup for the fourth successive season.

Goalless draws

In the other two matches Sunday, Colombia and Antigua and Barbuda played to a goalless draw and St Vincent and the Grenadines beat Trinidad and Tobago 1-0.

Antigua and Barbuda's draw qualified them, as the third team in Zone I, for the play-offs, scheduled to begin on August 17.

A penalty conversion, by Grayson Alexander in the first half, gave five-time Cup champions St Vincent and the Grenadines the much-desired triumph, as they inched their way closer to making the play-offs.

St Vincent and the Grenadines must beat Guyana next Sunday to win Zone II and secure the play-off berth. They are currently on eight points, two behind current Zone II leaders St Kitts and Nevis.

Guyana are currently on six points and Grenada, who will oppose Trinidad and Tobago in next Sunday's other game, are on five points in Zone II.