Tony Becca

IT IS commonly said that what you put in is what you get out and, as far as I am concerned, Jamaica got what they deserved when they defeated Mexico before a near full house at the National Stadium on Saturday night.

I have always believed that all you can realistically ask a man to do is to give his best. In all my years in sport, I have never asked anyone to do anything but to give of his best and, on Saturday night, Jamaica, cheered on by a host of flag-waving supporters, gave their best in their bid to stay in the race for a place in the World Cup finals in South Africa.

How team plays

I am one of those who are not satisfied only when 'my team' wins. To me, and, especially so in this age of professional sport when the standard of sport, generally, is so much higher, when there are so many more great players and so many more great teams than there were many years ago, 'my team' can lose and I am still satisfied.

It depends on how they play, how they perform and I was happy how Jamaica played on Saturday night.

Before the match, while the Jamaicans were warming up on the pitch, I remarked to my nephew that I liked how they looked and, although I did not believe so before, I also said to him that I believed they could win.

Ranked number 116th in the world, Jamaica went into the match needing to win in order to keep their hopes alive.

And, in a wonderful perfor-mance, in a performance that lasted not for 15 minutes, not for 30 minutes and not for 45 minutes, but for the entire 90 minutes plus, they matched the 24th-ranked team in the world and defeated it.

Praises for players

It was as if they were playing not only for their lives but also for the lives of the almost 30,000 fans on hand. These included those of the pleasant young lady sitting on my left and the two persons sitting in front of me, the young lady who told me that, win or lose, she has not missed a Reggae Boyz match at the stadium for years (also win or lose, a cricket match at Sabina Park for almost the same time) and the two charming young doctors, male and female, who serve on the JFF's medical team.

Exceptional performance

All the players played well, and praises to them.

Captain Ricardo Gardner, however, was exceptional, especially so because of his testing freekicks, and so, too, Ricardo Fuller, not because he scored the goal, but because of his energy in the field, his urgency in going forward, his hustling of the defenders and because of a magnificent shot from the distance - a powerhouse which did not rise above the grass more than a metre and which flashed past the diving goalkeeper.