By Richard Bryan,
Staff Reporter
MANCHESTER
JAMAICA'S National Under-17 squad were whipped 4-0 by Canada in the final game of their friendly international series held at the Goshen Sports Club yesterday.
The teams drew 1-1 in the first game on Tuesday, but the visitor's aggressive display from which four goals were scored in the first half opened serious concerns about the home side's depth. The two are set to meet next month in a four-nation qualification series in the United States, and coach Jackie Walters is already conceding that Jamaica will have a lot of homework to do.
With injuries to key starters captain Copeland Lewis, Corey Pickersgill and striker Richard West (Kingston College), Jamaica began the game with five new changes from Tuesday's team and looked quite inferior while paying a heavy price. These changes were, however, promptly reversed on the resumption as the coaching staff introduced regular players: Andre White, Vivian Malcolm, Marcellino Blackburn, Akeem Priestly and Lovel Palmer. This tally was later increased to seven with the introduction of Eureka Trowars for Keron Bernard and Dennis Clayton for regular goalkeeper Richard McCallum who had a very bad game.
The substitutions restored some sanity to Jamaica's play but Andre White failed to reward Jamaica's improved second half performance by kicking wide a penalty he earned in the 80th minute on a foul in the six-yard area by Canada's impressive sweeper Liam Girard.
Jamaica's early tactical play revolved around using Jermaine Montaque to man-mark and shut down the dangerous Wyn Belotte who had scored in Tuesday's game and also in Sunday's 3-2 win over an Essex Valley team at Alpart. The plan never worked as Belotte who set up the first goal by his captain Jason DiTullio in the 21st minute in only his second break-away, scored Canada's second in the 28th minute.
For his troubles, Montaque was red-carded in the 82nd minute for a second bookable offence although Belotte himself was to incur expulsion by referee Lloyd Harrison for foul and abusive language in the 88th minute.
Matthew O'Connor got Canada's third goal in the 31st minute with a well taken shot from 23 yards and Francesco Bruno, who had set up Belotte previously, scored a solo effort at half-time to end a miserable shut-out for the Jamaicans.
In the day's curtain raiser second-half strikes by Aaron Jackson and Leon Maduro gave the Clarendon Under-20 team a 2-0 win over their St. Elizabeth counterparts. Canada will end their tour of Jamaica tomorrow with a game against St. Elizabeth at the New Town Centre in Black River.
