Paul-Andre WalkerStaff Reporter
WITH EXPECTATIONS high, the Jamaican Under-21 netball team will grace the Broward County Convention Centre in competition for the first time, as they get their World Youth Netball Championship campaign under way against lowly Bermuda today.
The Young Sunshine Girls' 3:45 p.m. fixture is not expected to face much resistance and will be using the opening game to sharpen up for tougher games to come.
Skipper Neekesha Connolly and her teammates will be hoping that their potency in offence, led by Peter-Gaye Thomas at centre and scoring phenomenon at goal shoot Romelda Aiken, can get into rhythm quickly, noting that unlike their practice Test series over the past few months, they only have one shot at getting it right.
Ranked No. 2 in the world, the Jamaicans are undoubtedly one of the teams to beat and the Bermudans will be rearing to get one over on one of the 'big teams'.
ON THE IMPROVE
The Jamaicans have a tendency to make errors when put under pressure, however, they have been working on that aspect of their game and have looked to be on the improve, and while their opponents aren't expected to win, it will be interesting to see if the Jamaicans can find a way to avoid making too many mistakes.
Nicole Aiken and her team of defenders will also be trying to make sure that they don't give anything away, but there is no indication of anything dangerous in the Bermudan attack, but rather, an indication of the tough road ahead with four teams that have good chances of raising the title of World Champions.
Jamaica find themselves in Pool B which includes South Africa Canada and the United States along with today's opponents.
The group doesn't seem very tough and the Jamaicans are expected to top the zone with South Africa possibly holding on to the second-place position.
In other games today, St. Lucia play the Cook Islands, Northern Ireland play Antigua and Barbuda, while Barbados go up against Fiji.
