MLS Defender Marshall Delivers

Jamaica's Tyrone Marshall scored in the 88th minute of an international friendly on Wednesday, lifting his country to a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica at the National Stadium in Kingston. Marshall, currently with Toronto FC of MLS, rose above a pair of defenders to meet a cross from Marlon King and was able to beat goalkeeper Ricardo Gonzales for the equalizer, coming ten minutes after Costa Rica first took the lead through a William Sunsing strike that came against the run of play.
"It was a good start to our campaign for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa," Jamaica's Brazilian coach Rene Simones said. "The boys played well and we could have won the game if we had taken those chances."

Marshall, 33, was the 11th overall pick in the 1998 MLS College Draft, selected by the Colorado Rapids. The central defender played only one game for the club before being traded to the Miami Fusion. After three seasons with Miami, that team folded and Marshall went to the Los Angeles Galaxy through the Allocation Draft. From 2002-2007, he was a mainstay on the backline of the G's, but was traded to Toronto FC eight games into the season after breaking Kenny Cooper's leg with a slide tackle in his last appearance with Los Angeles.

He has also made 60 appearances for Jamaica's national team, scoring three times, including the game winner against Trinidad & Tobago int he final round of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Next up for 98th-ranked Jamaica is a friendly against aforementioned T&T on March 26, the last tune-up for The Reggae Boyz before entering the second round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.