Hatters defender stretchered off as Jamaica are held in Gold Cup opener with USA

Luton defender Amari’i Bell was stretchered off as Jamaica missed their chance to grab a famous win over USA in their opening Gold Cup game by conceding a late goal during a 1-1 draw last night.

The Reggae Boyz had stunned the majority of the crowd at Soldier Field in Chicago, when defender Damion Lowe opened up the scoring with a decisive header from Demarai Gray's set-piece after just 14 minutes.

Jamaica then had a glorious opportunity to go 2-0 up, as Aidan Morris fouled Kevon Lambert inside the area, only for Arsenal keeper Matt Turner to save Leon Bailey’s attempt.

After the break, Bell, who was winning his 12th cap, was then injured and had to go off on a stretcher, causing some concern for Hatters boss Rob Edwards with Town’s return to pre-season training expected to start soon.

Stopper Andre Blake denied substitute Cristian Roldan with 20 minutes left, but the USA managed to grab an equaliser with two minutes to go, sub Brandon Vazquez finding the net.

Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said: “We could have done a lot of things better than we did, but in general, we should be happy and respectful for this point.

"It’s a group, so to have a point against the highest ranked team in the group is always a good start.

“We are not happy with conceding at the end of the game, but we should, even though its a little bit hard now, we should respect the point and take it as positive rather than a negative.”

Jamaica now face Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday before taking on Saint Kitts and Nevis on Monday.