Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
BLAINE
JAMAICA'S UNDER-20 women's football coach Vin Blaine has said that while his charges failed to make it to the World Championshps after losing 4-1 to Mexico yesterday, there is no shame in the performance.
Becoming the first team to make the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Under-20 qualification tournament, Jamaica were faced with the task of defeating home team Mexico in a third-place play-off for the final World Cup spot, with the United States and Canada occupying the first two.
A 4-1 defeat awaited the young Reggae Girlz, but Blaine thinks his team could have won the game.
"We didn't execute. We got two very clear cut chances on goal, one on one with the goalkeeper and we didn't convert," said Blaine.
Blaine alluded to those chances in the first 10 minutes of play as coming back to haunt his team after they let in what he considered a soft goal against the run of play.
"At that point we had the better of play and then gave up a soft goal," explained Blaine.
Against the run of play or not, 14-year-old Veronica Charlyn Corral, with eight goals in the competition turned out to be Mexico's hero, getting onto the scoresheet twice to deal Jamaica two deadly blows.
Blaine says, though, that until the Jamaicans made defensive errors they were the better team.
UNFORTUNATE STRIKER
Venicia Reid, who was the Jamaican on the scoresheet was also the unfortunate striker that misplaced her shooting boots in those one on one situations but even her performance, Blaine alluded to with favour.
"She normally scores those but I think she panicked a little," he said.
In the end, Jamaica's Girlz did better than was expected and Blaine says building on what has been achieved should be the aim.
"I am disappointed but when you look at our team and playing teams that are 40 million people strong and all the resources to boot I think we did pretty well. I don't think we should hang our heads. If you look at our preparation and what we had to do you will agree. All the other teams played international practice games and we were the only Caribbean team. All the other teams have agreed that we have done very very well," said Blaine.
In the battle for top place the United States unseated Canada as CONCACAF champions after a close 3-2 victory.
The Under-20 girls are expected
to arrive home this evening at approximately 7:40.
