Evan-McKenzie

International Friendly Match: Jamaica Vs Canada
Venue: Played At the National Stadium, Sunday January 31, 2010 – 6pm
Weather :Cool ,dry ,no wind Field :Very good condition, grass
Playing Systems: Jamaica 3 – 5 -2 ;Canada 4 – 4 – 2
Coaches: Theodore Whitmore – Jamaica and Stephen Hart - Canada
Fair sized crowd ; active spectators, score: Jamaica 1( L Shelton 67th minute) Canada- 0
 

The Start of Building for the Future Campaign

The matchup is between two teams that are in the rebuilding process for their 2014 World Cup Campaign. Both team were playing very cautious from the first whistle. What became pretty obvious from very early was that the Reggae Boyz were actually passing the ball a lot more and were intent on keeping possession as much as possible. After a few minutes feeling out the opponents, the Boyz became more aggressive with every scoring opportunity and as the game progressed began to throw more players up front, even though the more organized Canadians defense were found wanting at times.

The Jamaicans superior speed was demonstrated by the likes of Luton Shelton, Eric Vernan, Demar Phillips and Omar Cummings and proved too much for the Maple Leaf as they tried to nullify the speedsters with organization and patients as well as the occasional counter attack which look dangerous at times and showed the very weak defensive support given by our midfielders. Quite noticeable however was the fact that the three man defense was not man marking as much as they used to in times gone by, while not as alert as they should nor providing adequate covering for their teammates. Semblance of organization was present and need to be improved for tougher assignments.

Our Speed Should Be Our Main Weapon

With us not devising a plan to use our speed and skill to beat the Canadians, it was difficult to determine the teams tactics of if they were in fact trying to use their speed as well as the speed of play to score goals. The gap between our midfield and forwards were the only reason why the score line was not greater than one on the night, the missed opportunities the possession and spark or some good individual skills offers much hope for the team, although we need to move the ball more rapidly around from side to side looking for the moment to make the possession count, our midfielders except for Phillips reacted were far too slow whenever we lost possession, and even more frightening is the fact that our defenders were not explosive and prefered to make the effort to try and win the ball rather than to contain as the first option.

A more efficient use of the field spreading the ball around combined with a few more piercing run from speedsters taking on the Canadian wing backs would be just what the Doctor order even though the first half advantage would have to be given to the home Boyz for possession, showing sign of tiring towards the end of the first half even more than the visitors who were not out done by our possession but held their own through composure and organization.

A cautious Second Half Possession Game

The second half started very lively with the Reggae boyz putting some passes together and showing their intention that a win is what they were here for which was reinforced by the fact that no substitution was made up to this point in the game. The attacking plan was as unclear as it was in the first half, however the continued effort to keep possession of the football was a clear sign of maturity, furthermore keeping the ball safely means that the opponent cannot score on you.

During this very careful period the spectators and some experts were not seeing this side of the equation and while supporting every attacking and skillful display by the Boyz, could feel the very lethargic display. Possession game was not the usual style of the Boyz, the decision not to introduce substitute paid dividends in the 68th minute when Omar Cummings made a blistering run on the visitors backline, beating two and passing to Luton Shelton combined with a poor set position by the Canadian custodian, put Jamaica in the lead to the thundering cheers of the very supportive supporters.
The goal gave the coaching staff the courage to introduce substitutes and with a few fresh legs the intensity of the game stepped up a notch as the more home based Boyz and Ryan Johnson who look like a very good prospect add some good touch to the game coupled with the fact that they were leading and the visitors did not look the kind of threat in the second half as much as in the first. Furthermore the upbeat supporters who wanted more goals were in fact cheering them on until the final whistle.

A Win Is a Win but What Next

• Having time on our hand is a very nice way to say that things is still not right with our football even at the international level and not just the local competition level, as it is still very evident that our strike force needs a lot of room to be effective and at the higher level that is not going to happen. Their dribbling skills needs to be sharpened if we are to benefit from the speed we are blessed with and this is not a future task.

• Using the two acre plot must be discussed at every level of our football as the more inordinate use of lateral movement by our players still add to energy depletion and not necessarily to offensive or defensive support for the team, we must use the system to our advantage for ninety minutes

• Defenders have to be trained to be more explosive in getting back the first five yards makes a lot of difference to forward who just need that edge

• A greater understanding of the role and importance of the cover defenders as we seek to phase out the man markers out of our football this is necessary for the future

• Improvements on the speed of play have to be tackled on a very wide scale if we are to be successful with this venture at the higher level ,we must remember that our opponents are not going to be as slow as our local Boyz

• We seem to be coming of age with our warm up, thumbs up on this one. Keep improving.

• Our Goal keeping badly needs attention, we have very good shot stoppers but we are very far behind with choosing the right set position, intercepting crosses and through ball, as well as organizing the defense, these are very important roles in modern football we need to catch up with

Again good start but building a good national team is not the same thing as developing football nationally.