Girlz take heart despite World Cup qualifying elimination
Though dejected that they weren’t able to secure a historic under-17 World Cup qualification, Jamaica’s head Coach Dane Chambers was heartened by his young Reggae girlz’s showing at the Concacaf Women’s Championship in the Dominican Republic.
His sentiments came after the young Reggae Girlz bowed out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage following a 4-0 loss to defending champions United States on Wednesday.
“I am disappointed that we didn’t make it [qualify], but the girls gave it their best and I am extremely proud of the way they conducted themselves throughout. I just think we need to try and secure some more international exposure for the girls before a tournament, to assist in their mental and physical preparation,” Chambers told the Jamaica observer shortly after arriving on the island Thursday.
Prior to their elimination, the young Reggae Girlz produced an unbeaten run, beating Bermuda 7-0 and Dominican Republic 3-1, before securing a 1-1 scoreline with powerhouse Canada in the group stages. They then bettered Caribbean neighbours Cuba 4-0 in the round of 16.
Then the Jamaican team, which fielded only a few overseas-based players — some of whom were new to the programme — for the tournament, showed some individual flair, guts and enterprise as a collective unit.
However, Chambers believes the gulf in class between Jamaica and United States was again evident in the quarter-final contest, as the regional powerhouse raced to a 3-0 first-half lead before capping the win in the second.
“It was a flat first half for us.
I don’t know if we panicked, [but] we played poorly for the first 45 minutes. But I think we came out and showed some sense of pride and character after the break. We were much tighter defensively and we also tried to play our game, but were just outdone by a better team,” Chambers reasoned.
“But it was a good tournament one that we can build on and learn from, the girls initially took it hard knowing they gave their all throughout. We had to remind them that it took the world’s best women football nation to eliminate us and I think after processing that, they started feeling better,” he explained.
The defeat also meant that the wait to better the country’s fourth-placed finish from 2013 has again been prolonged.
Still, Chambers believes the possibility of closing the gap on their more illustrious regional rivals — United States, Canada and Mexico — is not far-fetched provided the necessary investment and planning are done.
In fact, the tactician has now joined the chorus of coaches that has reiterated the age-old call for greater organisation and attention to be given to the women’s programmes, particularly where pooling a team together ahead of a crucial tournament is concerned.
“Like I said before, we have to assemble and expose the ladies to some international matches before a tournament so we can get more quality sessions in, and beyond that we have to find a way to keep these girls together because they will be the ones transitioning to the Under-20s,” said Chambers.
“So basically, we need longer preparation time. I believe that’s the difference between us and United States and the other teams. Once we do that, I think it can bridge the gap between us and them. But that would just be the start because in Jamaican terms, it’s like they are at Portland and we are in Hanover,” he ended.