‘Good win but a lot of work needed’
Two local analysts look back at Boyz’s CONCACAF Nations League victory
TWO LOCAL football experts have given the Reggae Boyz a thumbs up after a 4-0 win over the lowly ranked Cayman Islands in their opening CONCACAF Nations League match at the National Stadium on Sunday.
Harbour View FC’s general manager Clyde Jureidini and Cornwall College’s daCosta Cup coach, Dr Dean Weatherly, said some pre-match events affected their efficiency but both were happy for the opening day win.
Jureidini pointed to the team’s limited preparation and the reintroduction of British-based players as reasons they did not synchronise fluently.
“We played 48 hours after opposing Ecuador so the mindset wasn’t clearly on the Cayman Islands. It’s also a fairly new competition and the team is new. So even though we won 4-0, there were individual things (errors) we have to work on,” he said.
WILL GET BETTER
“We also had (Adrian) Mariappa and (Michael) Hector not playing for two years and they did not get a practice game before. But as they play more and get more understanding it will get better. The finishing, coordination and understanding is not there yet but it will improve,” he added.
Weatherly also thought the coordination was not the best.
“Games like this are sometimes feeder games to see where players are and where they need to go in terms of things the coach needs to implement.
“Maybe Theodore (Whitmore) was trying some things to see how well players understand each other. So maybe he was looking at things he can implement or he was, maybe, viewing this as a preparation game [for upcoming matches],” he reasoned.
However, both analysts agreed it was very important to start with a win but insist the team needs work ahead of the next match.
“A win is a win. That will only lift spirits and motivate you to move ahead. I wouldn’t look at the scoreline (winning margin), considering we just played Ecuador and came here to play, and that is tough. But the gelling wasn’t there and they need to start doing that (gel) and become one,” Weatherly commented. Jureidini echoed his sentiments. “The important thing is they started positive, but they are not there yet. I didn’t expect Cayman to be a bother. I expected us to overwhelm Cayman and a 4-0 scoreline reflected that. So it was a good score and victory but there’s work to do,” he said.
The Harbour View general manager noted that the team tried to put on an attacking display but said they need time to develop that style.
“We tried to force home the issue but I don’t think we are used to that style of being dominant in possession and being an attacking team. We are a defensive, restraining team and then counter-attack. So it will take time to change and get it right consistently,” he concluded.