Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
HOUSTON, Texas:
SEVERAL TOP-NOTCH football officials have commended the Reggae Boyz on their qualification to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The Jamaicans have advanced after winning one and drawing the second game of their preliminary fixture and played regional giants Mexico at the Houston Reliant Stadium last night in a match to decide which team wins Group C.
"Based on the limited preparation we had coming into the tournament, we've done well," the team's coach, Wendell Downswell, said. "Full credit to the players, moreso the senior players for the level of professionalism they've displayed. Overall it has sort of helped to get the younger players to gel as a unit."
Downswell believes the conditioning of his players has added to their performance and also praised team trainer Sean 'Junior' Samuels for his work.
WELL DONE, 'JUNIOR'
"The trainer has done a tremendous job. If you look at the physical capacity of the players thus far he has done a lot of individual work with the players, especially Jermaine Hue, Scarlett (Robert) and Jermaine Johnson," Downswell pointed out.
"Sometimes it's difficult for us to have a training session but he has a good rapport with them where he spends time in one-on-one situations, whether it be an individual technical work-out, sometimes physical and it has really paid off based on the general performance of the players and it has minimised the injuries to a great extent."
Joining Downswell in applauding the players' effort was Crenston Boxhill, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president.
Boxhill said: "Taking everything into consideration, the fact that the Unity Cup and one and two other internationals that we were trying to get before we got here fell through, and the fact that it is a young and fairly inexperienced squad, I think we've done very well so far.
"We've qualified for the next round and still have a game to play, with the possibility of topping the zone which has not been done at this level for a long time, so all in all I think we're doing quite well."
APPROACH SUCCESSFUL
Continuing, Boxhill pointed out that what makes the achievement more satisfying was that the approach they had embarked on in pushing Jamaica-bred talent was working.
He said: "All the players who are here are home-grown talent, strictly home-grown talent as most of them participate in our National Premier League and, of course, some of them play in the MLS, the smaller part of the group.
"Not only that, but if you look at the staff, every member of the staff is home-grown and it was only a matter of time before this had happened."
Michael Ricketts, head of the Jamaica delegation, said: "Everybody seems to be in high spirits, we're quite excited at the prospects of going to the quarter-finals. They're a young team and they have never played any top-class internationals and they've qualified with a game in hand."
Ricketts, who is also the Clarendon Football Association president, added: "They've shown real character because even against South Africa we had to come from behind every time. We're very happy and excited at the prospects of moving on to the next stage of the competition."
