Gordon Williams, Contributor
DOWNSWELL
CARY, North Carolina:
IN THE shadow of the stands at SAS Soccer Park here, Jamaica's technical director Wendell Downswell could afford a wide grin as he accepted the congratulations of football fans who had just witnessed the Reggae Boyz draw 1-1 with the United States on Tuesday.
The result was not the long-awaited first win for Jamaica over their CONCACAF rivals after nine previous losses and seven draws. But on this night, after sending out a relatively inexperienced team minus some of his best players, and especially as the Boyz' last game was a 5-0 whipping by Australia which threatened to scare away future quality opponents, Downswell could live with it. Certainly it was gratifying for more reasons than one.
"It was a good result for us in terms of the whole marketing of the team," he explained. "I think the fact that (when you consider) the last game we played against Australia...I think the overall result is quite satisfying."
That Downswell thought it "unfortunate" the Boyz did not beat the U.S., despite being under tremendous pressure from the Americans for most of the game, was a clear indication of his jovial mood.
'GOOD SPIRITS'
He was also pleased with the "good spirits" in which the game was played. But more important, he explained, was that the game offered a chance to look at Jamaica's up and coming talent against a quality opponent heading for the World Cup finals.
"We tried a number of young players and a few of them we were really impressed with," Downswell said. "We definitely have to have another look at them again in another game so hopefully we'll get another international game."
Jamaica already confirmed a May 29 match against Ghana and a June 3 showdown with England, both in Britain. And although Downswell did not offer the names of those who "impressed", the likes of Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Ryan Johnson and Demar Stewart were among the more inexperienced in his squad who earned significant time on the pitch against the U.S.
Downswell acknowledged that his team struggled to mount a consistent offensive game against the Americans, but credited the Boyz with rallying against a hungry, relentless opponent, desperate to rebound from a recent 4-1 loss to Germany, with players anxious to secure spots on the U.S. World Cup roster to be announced next month.
"Yes, we came under pressure, but that will happen against a U.S. team that has been playing more regular than us," he said. "...What was good about it was how well we absorbed the pressure. We didn't get too flustered as a result of that. We didn't make any blatant mistakes as such."
Opposing coach Bruce Arena agreed, despite being "very disappointed" by his team conceding a goal in the fourth minute.
"Give Jamaica credit," Arena said after the game. "I thought they did well with that opportunity (to score). For the night I think they gave great effort and defended pretty well."
In the space of a few days the national football programme had, in fact, done "pretty well". The under-21 team qualified for the Central American and Caribbean Games and the senior team forced a stalemate with the highly ranked U.S., on American soil, in front of a packed stadium, with only a few Jamaican supporters in sight.
"It has been a relatively good week for Jamaica's football," Downswell said as he stood in the shadow of the stadium stands. And that's a pretty good reason for the technical director to smile.
Gordon Williams is a Jamaican journalist based in the United States.
