Big lesson for Boyz By Audley Boyd,
Staff Reporter
BUENOS AIRES FABIAN Dawkins' goal against Argentina added another tiny step to Jamaica's climb on football's world stage, as the country made another first round exit at a global championship. The striker's 78th minute conversion in their closing Group A game of this Under 20 FIFA Youth World Championship against hosts and heavily favoured Argentina, was the first goal for a junior Jamaican team participating at a world championship, following the Under 17s' bare return two years ago in New Zealand. "At least we scored a goal," echoed a faithful follower who made the sacrifice to cheer his team. It is a sentiment that may have been echoed miles across the ocean to his tiny native land in the Caribbean. In a way, it brought a sense of pride to a team saddened by its early exit after fortune and offensive deficiencies relegated them to hoping for a dream performance that quickly faded with three quick goals in the first 15 minutes against three-time champions Argentina. By the end of the game, they were beaten 5-1, going down for the second time after a 0-1 loss to Finland which ultimately decided their fate, and a lucky 0-0 draw with Egypt. "First I must commend the players for their effort. It didn't go as well as we would've wanted... At least I can say we learnt a lesson. We learnt what high level football is all about," said the team's captain, Shavar Thomas. The point earned from the Egypt game represented the first at a junior World Cup by a Jamaican junior team. "I didn't perform as how I wanted because it's the first I was playing in conditions like this cold, my body was numb. Probably next time I'll do better. "Everyone spoke about the cold, it affected us," he said of the conditions in sub 5 degree Celsius temperatures. Then, they had barely arrived and were not acclimatised to the cold brought on by the advent of the southern winter. To make matters worse, with the exception of a few the team was without gear to keep them warm. In the first game they fought a listless and bitter battle, hardly showing any signs of their true potential despite finishing with an amazingly but lucky draw through a magnificent goalkeeping effort from Allien Whittaker, and the Egyptians' ineptitude in front of goal. Long sleeved under-shirts and better conditions prevailed in their next encounters but while they showed improvement, they never generated the type of offense capable of producing good scoring chances consistently. They dominated possession against Finland for the great majority of the first half but the Europeans were better in the second half and found the winner three minutes from time. The team hung its head after that game, knowing fully well that they had made their big chance of advancing beyond the second round slip. Any hope of a miracle were quickly dispelled in the opening stanza against the mighty Argentinians whose coach, like his people, expressed sympathy for a team which had won a place in their hearts. "It was a little bit of disillusion what Jamaica showed in this match, especially in the first 15-20 minutes when they conceded three goals. It was very easy for Argentina to score these three goals and then the whole match was decided. "It's obvious that Jamaica does not have the experience as other teams and nations in this Under 20 level as Argentina, as Brazil, as Spain. It is obvious that they made some mistakes, mistakes that other teams do not commit and a team like Argentina will profit from these mistakes and score. That is what happened exactly. "I'm very happy with the performance of this team (Argentina), but a little bit sad because a team like Jamaica, which has a lot of support among the Argentinian fans, the Argentinian public... I'm a little bit sad they have to leave now," Pekerman said. "One thing is how jovial we are and the type of football that we play," was how Wendell Downswell, Jamaica's coach, described their love for his team. "Argentinians like touch players and they were really impressed with (Keith) Kelly in particular." The Argentinian people are so good at cheering. In their game against Egypt, the visitors took a fourth minute lead. The entire stadium got up and started to jump and shout Argentina! Argentina!|Argentina!!! Within half hour they led 3-1, and ended up winning 7-1, the widest scoring margin in the group. The crowds flocked the Jamaican bus to hail the players one last time, but even before then, some had attracted far more important interests from Europe who want to act as agents for those who showed signs that they are capable of managing at a higher level. "The players that they have shown a liking for are Christopher Nicholas, Keith Kelly, Adam Wallace who is going to school, but they're still interested in him, Shavar Thomas and Woolry Wolfe," said Paul Young, the team's manager. "Kelly is partially untouchable as far as they're concerned, but they're still interested. They're trying to make a bridge where they could act on behalf of Kelly, but I don't know what stage that is in right now."
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