March 27 (Reuters) - Jamaica defeated New Caledonia 1-0 in their inter-confederation playoff semi-final in Guadalajara on Thursday to keep alive their hopes of a first World Cup appearance since 1998.
Jamaica will next face DR Congo on Tuesday for a spot in Group K at the June 11 to July 19 World Cup in North America alongside Colombia, Portugal and Uzbekistan, while New Caledonia's hunt for their first finals berth came to an end.
French territory New Caledonia, who lost out to Oceania rivals New Zealand for an automatic spot at the World Cup, came into the match ranked 150th in the world and fielded a team of part-timers but still gave the Jamaicans a scare.
"It was a very tough game," Jamaica goalkeeper and captain Andre Blake said.
"New Caledonia is a really good team. They can play if you give them time and space. We did a good job defending. We could have scored a couple of more goals, but we are happy with the win."
Jamaica's Bailey Cadamarteri scored the only goal in the 18th minute, converting from close range after New Caledonia keeper parried Ronaldo Webster’s free kick into his path.
Georges Gope-Fenepej had a golden opportunity to equalise early in the second half but could not connect with a cross in front of goal.
New Caledonia keeper Rocky Nyikeine made a crucial intervention to halt Webster's dangerous run inside the box and prevent Jamaica from doubling their lead.
The crowd got behind New Caledonia as they pushed for a late equalizer but they could not break through and Jamaica closed out the win.
“I thought we were aggressive, pressing and trying to win back the ball as much as possible," Jamaica head coach Rudolph Speid said.
"I think we put some smiles on our supporter’s faces and we know that the next match will be difficult but we’re up for the fight.”
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
