Jamaica’s answer to Tim Krul?
The unusual combination of Tim Krul and Bob Marley have proved the inspiration for Jamaica’s super-sub shootout hero Nicole Mcclure. Now she’s preparing for her nation’s first World Cup at an amateur club in Northern Ireland...
Meet Reggae Girl Nicole Mcclure
The Netherlands’ 2014 World Cup quarter-final with Costa Rica was seconds away from a penalty shootout when Dutch coach Louis van Gaal hauled off Ajax’s Jasper Cillessen and sent on Tim Krul.
The Newcastle goalkeeper went on to save penalties from Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana to seal Holland’s spot in a semi-final with Argentina.
In October 2018, Nicole Mcclure found herself in the same position, as Jamaica head coach Hue Menzies rolled the dice in extra time of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship third-place play-off with Panama. Victory would ensure the Caribbean side reached the World Cup for the first time in their history; defeat would crush their dream once again. With the score tied at 2-2, Mcclure emerged from the bench.
With no warning about Menzies’ intentions, the 29-year-old held her nerve, replacing 19-year-old Sydney Schneider between the sticks before pulling off two spot-kick saves from Lineth Cedeno and Kenia Rangel. It was then left to defender Dominique Bond-flasza to convert the decisive kick, win the shootout 4-2 and book Jamaica’s trip to France.
“As my father would say, I had my blinders on – it was just straight up tunnel vision,” explains Mcclure, born in the New York neighbourhood of Jamaica, Queens, but eligible for the Reggae Girlz through Jamaican-born parents Charles and Sharon.
“After Cedeno scored for Panama in the 115th minute, the coach told me to get ready and then check in with the fourth official.
“I took off my coat, adjusted my gloves and said to myself, ‘Big ooman ting now’. In Jamaican Patois that means, ‘It’s time to bring in a woman with experience’. I had to do anything I could to help the team qualify.
“I can’t really describe the moment as I was so focused,” she tells Fourfourtwo, admitting it took a week for the enormity of the team’s achievement to finally sink in. “It was one of those moments when you think about nothing other than getting the job done.”
After leaving second-tier Swedish outfit Sundsvalls DFF at the end of a contract that expired a few weeks after World Cup qualification, Mcclure found herself without a club only eight months before the tournament’s big kick-off.
“After qualifying for the World Cup I was approached by the glove manufacturer L1 Goalkeeper, who wanted to sponsor me,” she says. “They asked what my plans were leading up to the tournament and offered to help me find a club.
“They made a call to the coaches at Sion Swifts Ladies, who play in Northern Ireland’s Women’s Premiership, and I spoke to them the same day. Within a week or two the deal was done, and I was on my way to Strabane.”
Set in a quaint town in west Tyrone, the 2017-18 Irish Cup champions have become the talk of the league after recruiting the Jamaican international, who has also spent time in the USA, Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, Israel, France and Croatia.
“Nicole’s arrival has given everyone here a lift – I’ve done more interviews since she signed then I’ve done in the last eight years,” chuckles Swifts manager Tony Mcginley. “I think on her first night at training all the players arrived early, and we’ve been able to attract a goalkeeping coach long-term.
“We see Nicole as the final piece in the jigsaw that could help us get close to the Holy Grail – a league title which would bring Champions League football. That’s the dream.”
Mcginley and assistant manager Tommy Canning, both long-standing volunteers at the club, have promised Mcclure a special send-off, but concede they may not be able to offer her too much advice.
“When you look at the level we’re at and the level Nicole’s going to, there’s a world of difference, so I’m not sure I’m the one to give her a pep talk,” laughs Canning. “What I will say is, enjoy the experience and take it all in because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
With their season running from April to September, the Swifts – who play at the council-funded Melvin Sports Complex after being thrown out of their Brae Field home by a local millionaire lottery winner – will be without their star for the duration of the tournament.
The University of Hawaii graduate, who cycles to and from training and Swifts’ Wednesday night fixtures, longs to play in the FA Women’s Super League one day, too.
“My dream has been to play in England since [the WSL’S inaugural season in] 2011 but, of course, there have always been work-permit issues preventing me from joining a club,” says the Arsenal supporter, knowing the upcoming World Cup is the perfect shop window.
“I came very close to joining Sunderland four years ago but Jamaica were ranked outside FIFA’S top 40 at the time, making a deal difficult. I hope the team will progress up the rankings after the World Cup and a move to the English leagues will be more possible.”
Work permit problems, the struggle to make a living from the game, and the rolling hills of Northern Ireland’s vast countryside aren’t the only challenges Mcclure has had to contend with, either.
“We’re obligated to wear what the Jamaica Football Federation tells us, but we can’t keep the clothes beyond a camp or tournament,” she admits. “This is something that really upset the coaching staff, so they went out of their way to purchase customised shirts with Jamaica on them, plus shorts and sports bras for the squad.
“I’ve never been in a situation where an opposition player has asked to swap shirts, but I’m sure if we did it there would be some backlash from the federation,” jokes Mcclure. “But I feel like it would be worth the risk at the World Cup.”
While it’s unthinkable for world-class keepers in the men’s game to hit the shops and buy their own boots, they at least have a satisfactory salary with which to do it.
“Like many of my team-mates I still have to buy my own boots, and until earlier this year I also bought my goalkeeper gloves,” she says. “They could be up to $200 per pair.” Mcclure reveals that the salary female footballers receive for representing the Reggae Girlz falls below the minimum wage in most US states.
“My sponsor has given me 14 pairs of gloves to satisfy me from now until the end of the tournament, and they’re personalised,” smiles the 29-year-old. “Just like the players I’ve looked up to – Oliver Kahn and Edwin van der Sar – I’ve now got customised gloves.”
The Caribbean island nation restarted its women’s national team programme in 2014, after a six-year hiatus made necessary by a chronic lack of funding. They enlisted the help of Bob Marley’s daughter Cedella and the legendary reggae star’s wife Rita in an attempt to become the first Caribbean country to appear at the Women’s World Cup. “I can go on for days about Cedella Marley – she’s one of a kind,” gushes the shot-stopper, who received her first senior call-up in 2009. “If it wasn’t for her there would be no qualification and we wouldn’t be on the plane to France. She’s the one who saw the vision, raised the funds and made this dream possible.”
Debutants Jamaica will meet 2007 finalists Brazil in their Group C opener on June 9, followed by matches against Italy and Australia. However, Mcclure, who watched the Women’s World Cup draw at a pub in Northern Ireland, insists the Reggae Girlz aren’t off to France just to make up the numbers.
“Bring it on!” she smiles. “We’re going up against three of the best national teams in the world – and we’re the lowest-ranked side in the tournament so we have nothing to lose. We have this chip on our shoulder and we’re ready to compete, get out of the group and create history again.”
“MY DREAM IS TO PLAY IN ENGLAND – A GOOD WORLD CUP WILL MAKE THAT MORE POSSIBLE”