THE BOYZ gave it their all but, in the end, the task was just too much. Beating out six or seven unanswered goals against Canada was never going to happen.
The numbers said it - only two victories over Canada in 13 previous matches and both by 1-0 margins. Statistics don't lie, not at this level of football, especially in a 'group of death'.
It reflects the competitive levels of each participant in the group with the mere fact that Canada - who had beaten Jamaica six times - had been seen as the weak team, speaks volumes of the degree of difficulty.
Professional approach
Much credit must be given to the Reggae Boyz for winning 3-0. It was a scoreline borne more out of guts and determination than anything else. The football wasn't pretty, as the Boyz probably made more bad passes on the night than they had done throughout the entire qualifying series.
The team lacked the composure and snappy passing necessary to counter the packed midfield of an opponent determined to preserve its honour, despite not having anywhere to go except out in the qualifiers.
With the exception of its captain, Paul Stalteri of Tottenham Hotspur, Canada's representatives were not their first choice in the 18-man grouping but, if you look at the profiles, they are all part of a professional system and 13 are based with clubs in Europe. So, they pack a fair deal of experience.
With much to prove, as far as first team selection and their future is concerned, the Canadians ran hard and contested every ball over every blade of grass at 'The Office'.
That's the professional approach and it often forced Jamaica deep into their half as they revolved possession to change angles as far as the back line.
It was that difficult to get the ball forward and to the three forwards in a system that differed from the customary 4-4-2 format.
Instead of playing straight across the front, the forwards may have had greater effect as a triumvirate, operating at the centre, with one almost as an attacking link, thus freeing up the flanks.
However, and whatever the formation, the team scored three goals, the first time it had gone past one against Canada and during this series in the group of death, where it had tallied one each in three of its previous five matches, the latter two against Mexico and Honduras, injecting life into a campaign that appeared dead and done after securing only one point from three away fixtures.
Nnation's best team
Quite frankly, the damage had been done when René Simoes, technical director at the time, ignored many of the country's best players and he was fired following defeat in Honduras.
Theodore Whitmore took over the reins, did the sensible thing by putting together the nation's best team to give it its best chance. It almost worked.
Not qualifying for the CONCACAF finals, which involves six team and five home matches, is a big setback, both financially and otherwise.
One only need to look at the turnout at the National Stadium on Wednesday night - which was packed to capacity and hugely populated in the cycle track and Red Stripe party stand areas nearer the field - to get an indication of the financial spin-offs that may have been accrued.
Clearly, the administrators face a huge task in maintaining such interest in the sport and the national senior team, since the next World Cup qualification won't begin until 2012. World Cup elimination generally takes players with it and this, in itself, presents another challenge of rebuilding.
Next month, there will be the regional Digicel Caribbean Cup finals, which will be held here from December 1-16. The per-formance of the Reggae Boyz will be key, as the top three will automatically qualify for the Gold Cup.
Rebuilding team, Jamaica
Besides rebuilding of team, Jamaica will also need to continue rebuilding its reputation in the FIFA rankings. As there are a number of teams, which will be battling for World Cup spots, a decent ranking could make Jamaica a prime target for practice matches, which would provide other opportunities to market and make the sport visible, as well as keeping the Reggae Boyz engaged, and many in the 18-man squad for the Canada game could form part of the next campaign.
They include captain Ricardo Gardner (30 years), Marlon King (28), Ricardo Fuller (29), Luton Shelton (23), Omar Cummings (26), Dane Richards (25), Oneil Thompson (25), Jermaine Johnson (28), Rodolph Austin (23), Wolry Wolfe (27), Shavar Thomas (27), Demar Phillips (25), Jamal Campbell-Ryce (25), Damion Stewart (28), Demar Stewart (23), Omar Daley (27) goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts (31) and Claude Davis (29).
