Lowe says Boyz motivated by Saudi Arabia challenges
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Reggae Boyz Captain Damion Lowe is assuring fans that despite all the obstacles that his team has had to overcome in order to play these two friendly international games, they will put their best foot forward today.
The Boyz have been struck by a series of blows, ranging from positive COVID-19 results, unavailability of players due to their inability to arrive in time to meet Saudi Arabia’s obligatory quarantine guidelines, as well as a public quarrel with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) over remuneration for the two-match series.
“I feel like with everything going on it helps us, it motivates us, it challenges us. Without adversity sometimes you can’t bring the greatness out of you,” Lowe, son of Reggae Boy legend Onandi, told the Jamaica Observer last evening.
“The guys really appreciate the one-day [training session last evening]; it showed on the pitch that everybody was just trying to be happy and get the legs going, and everybody enjoyed the session today.
“It was just to get the mind right and refocused on the game. We know the importance of the games; we are preparing for the World Cup qualifiers and the Gold Cup, and with everything that is going on it is 2020 for you, the icing on the cake!”
Though happy to be on the field, it was evident from the skipper’s voice that there is concern for teammates who have been struck down by the novel coronavirus and those yet to be cleared to play.
“It is what it is, and we came here to play football and that’s what we have to do. We have to take the pitch tomorrow and put our best foot forward and just have each other’s back.
“Everybody knows the situation; it is a very sensitive topic,but we support each other. There are a lot of things that guys are not used to, being uncomfortable, but we just have to go out and do our best, and we can’t really kill ourselves or put a lot of pressure on ourselves, regardless of what’s going on.”
And, he emphasised that it was not a case of the group being ready to throw in the towel, far from it.
“We are going to play to win, we always want to win. We just want to put our best foot forward, because we are all good footballers and we might not have had much time together, but football happens naturally, and once we can keep the ball and play simple, we should be fine.”