Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor

JAMAICA ARE lining up a very strong offensive squad in an all-out quest for victory against Canada when the countries meet in an international football friendly at the National Stadium on Sunday.

The match is a return contest between the teams following Canada's 1-0 win in Montreal on September 4. Besides turning the tables, the Jamaicans are seeking a lift for more significant reasons.

National pride is hurting after having sagged to a new low following constant failures, especially the most recent - the Reggae Boyz's elimination Sunday from a Caribbean group play-off it hosted in the Digicel Caribbean Cup.

Carl Brown, the interim head coach, reckons the situation calls for some urgent fixing and has gone for nine additional overseas-based players who are available at this time.

"We're trying to put together a strong squad to play this game. We need to get a good result here," Brown told The Gleaner ahead of the 25-member squad's first training session yesterday afternoon.

Supporters up in arms

"After the recent failure to qualify for the next round of the Digicel Cup, football supporters are up in arms and the game is a bit down, so any victory now would boost the morale of the football fraternity," he said. Asked if football was at an all-time low here, Brown, whose team has been cheered and jeered amidst fluctuating Digicel Cup performances this past week, said "definitely ... only a victory would do something for the football at this time."

Commenting further, the long-time national coach who himself is a former captain of the national team, said he has bolstered the attacking complement as it is "lacking".

"The squad includes a good number of strikers this time. It includes Ricardo Fuller, Luton Shelton and Teofore Bennett, and they will add some depth to the squad, particularly the strike force. That's an area in which we are presently lacking," Brown said.

Apart from Fuller, Shelton and Bennett, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Jermaine Hue and Khari Stephenson are three other invitees among the new overseas nine with decent offensive skills.

Belated opportunity

The remaining trio includes central defenders Claude Davis and and Damion Stewart, as well as the long-overlooked 25-year-old Shavar Thomas, who gets a belated opportunity to rekindle his enigmatic association with the national senior team in which he started promisingly many years earlier as a teen.

Fifteen of the squaddies were part of the 18-member Digicel Cup squad, while one more, goalie Leighton Murray, has also been included.

Regular custodian Donovan Ricketts and attacking midfielder Jermaine Johnson are unavailable as they have matches in the English divisional leagues on Saturday.

"Ricketts and Jermaine Johnson's clubs have not released them. They have games on Saturday so they won't be able to play on Sunday," noted Brown.

SQUAD: Leighton Murray, Shawn Sawyers, Richard McCallum, Fabian Davis, Claude Davis, Damion Stewart, Shavar Thomas, Oneil Thompson, Xavean Virgo, Garfield Reid, Khari Stephenson, Omar Daley, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Demar Phillips, Shane Crawford, Damion Williams, Sean Fraser, Ricardo Fuller, Teofore Bennett, Luton Shelton, Fabian Dawkins, Kavin Lamey, Wilfred Smith, Roland Dean and Jermaine Hue.