USA DOWN BOYZ
...But Coach Theodore Whitmore takes positive from 4-1 defeat
VIENNA, Austria — As was expected, the much superior United States Senior Men’s National Team ran out comfortable 4-1 winners over Jamaica’s Senior Reggae Boyz in their friendly international inside Wiener Neustadt yesterday.
Better prepared and more advanced in their preparation phase ahead of important tournaments such as the Nations League semi-finals, Concacaf Gold Cup and Fifa World Cup qualifiers starting in a few months, the US opened up a 2-0 lead by the 53rd minute after Barcelona wing back Sergino Dest had powered them ahead on 34 minutes before substitute Brenden Aaronson doubled the score.
Midfielder Sebastian Lletget then added a late brace (83rd and 90th minutes) to add gloss to the Americans’ performance, after Jamaica new boy Jamal Lowe had pulled a goal back in the 70th minute with a fine finish following good build-up play.
The Boyz had entered the game with a mountain to climb having been forced to select a squad comprising many firsttime invitees as well as homegrown players who have not played competitively for over a year.
Then on match day two players were ruled ineligible after returning positive COVID-19 test results.
Despite the results, Reggae Boyz Head Coach Theodore Whitmore was convinced it was not a wasted trip.
He told the Jamaica Observer that he had taken positives from the game.
“It’s hard to go into any specifics of the game but I can say it provided me with an opportunity to look at new talent and the chance to fit in the missing pieces [in the overall player pool],” Whitmore said.
“My only concern was the local players when we injected them. You could see the difference with them being out of competition and not playing [for over a year], but I would take a lot of positives out of the game,” he added.
The US dictated the early running, spraying the ball around the pitch without creating too many alarm bells for the Jamaican backline marshalled by Liam Moore and Ethan Pinnock.
Content to sit back and hit on the counter, the Boyz did just that at the other end when Lowe released Ricardo Morris, who had slipped infield from the right-hand channel. But, after composing himself, the Portmore United star player shot wide of the target from the edge of the penalty area.
The Americans continued to probe with the combination of Dest and Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, creating nervous moments for Adrian Mariappa and Morris on the right-hand side.
On the opposite side, Giovanni Reyna and Reggie Cannon proved just as effective, pinning back Amarii Bell and Jamal Lowe. But the pressure paid off when Dest cut infield from the left and unleashed a wicked right-footed shot which gave Jeadine White no chance in goal.
Aaronson doubled the lead