FAULTY SHOOTING, LEAKY DEFENCE LEAVE JAMAICA ON THE CUSP OF ELIMINATION

And so another world campaign has come to a close; well, almost. After Jamaica’s 2-1 defeat against Guatemala in what was a must-win match, the Reggae Boyz go into their final match on October 16 needing to beat Antigua by more than 3 clear goals and hope that either the US or Guatemala lose badly in their next game.

If the US/Guatemala game ends in a draw then it doesn’t matter, the Road to Rio would have been destroyed by a landslide of missed opportunities, stalled development and two matches lost that should not have been.

Jamaica went into this latest match fully aware of its significance. It had to win. Even though tied on the same number of points as the United States that handed Jamaica its first defeat in this round of competition, and Guatemala that lost here at the National Stadium in June, but trailing both on goal difference. Prior to the match Jamaica had scored four goals in four matches. It now has five from five but now trails both teams by three points and goal difference. Why? Jamaica has shown a clearly inability to score goals in free play.

Of Jamaica’s five goals in competition, three have come from set plays or penalties. Luton Shelton scored a penalty in this latest loss but he had more than ample opportunity to score in the first half when he waited to see the whites of the goalkeeper’s eyes after getting a direct run at goal. He also missed an opportunity in the second half when unmarked inside the 18-yard box, he should have done better with a header that went wide. For the accomplished forward that he is, a trap and shoot would have been a better option.

There were also other players who muffed opportunities as well.

There was a free flow to the game that saw opportunity after opportunity being created but for most of the game Jamaica dominated possession, but needing a win something happened with about 15 minutes to go and with the score tied at 1-1 that still befuddles me. Jamaica had only three men forward, trying to open up a Guatemalan defence that often comprised of six or more players. Time and time again you would see Demar Phillips, Dane Richards and Omar Cummings try get into the box only to be corralled by a team of Guatemalans. The rest of the team apparently was sitting back in midfield, holding for God knows what since they gave up two soft goals anyway. Jamaica needed the win and should have gone for it. Only after Guatemala got the winning goal did the Reggae Boys look like they were willing to press once more but by then it was too late.

Commentator Neville ‘Bertis’ Bell kept saying that Jamaica were not playing badly. He started saying that even before the Boyz went one down after 15 minutes. It was almost as if he was unable to understand why the Boyz were not winning the match. If I was to respond to his statement I would say that the Jamaican team was not playing badly they just weren’t playing well enough.

Now that this campaign has ended, it will be interesting to hear the reaction of the coach and the administration who will have presided over yet another failed campaign. People will say these things happen in football and I would have to disagree.

On paper Jamaica had the players capable of getting to Rio in two years’ time but for a number of reasons – too many to go into detail with here – the team is now on the verge of failing once more to get to the promised land. France in 1998 is beginning to look like a fluke, which is why I wont readily agree with any ‘these-things-happen’ comments out there. These things only happen to Jamaica.