US pair answers Reggae Girlz call

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica —The Orlando-based pair of Adrianna Johnson and Anika Keene are in seventh heaven that they are now bonafide members of Jamaica's Under-17 women's set-up.

Both, newcomers to the team, were expected to start in head coach Vin Blaine's team for the opening Group A game last night against Canada in the CONCACAF U-17 Women's World Cup qualifying tournament.

Johnson, 15, who prefers to play in the left-back position of defence, says she is hoping the opportunity to play international football will aid her overall development.

"I would like to learn to play faster, and playing at different levels, and hopefully this will help my game to improve...," she said on Wednesday night shortly after arriving from Miami.

And though it's a dream come true to be playing international football, the young woman of Jamaican parents is "kind of nervous, but hopefully, I will be able to play my game".

Blending in with the rest of the team, Johnson noted, will not be difficult as she had a previous but brief stint with the Under-20 team.

"I feel quite comfortable because I played with some of the girls before," she said.

Like Johnson, Keene plays for Florida Rush in the US Southern Conference Women's Youth Football League, and could not disguise her delight to be a part of a national outfit.

"It is an honour, I didn't even thought about it (playing international football) before I was invited. I just didn't believe it would happen for me this early; it kind of stunned me at first, but now I am starting to realise how big a deal it is," said the 16-year-old striker of Jamaican mother and Panamanian father.

"I am just excited," she added.

Before she knew that she was going to be a starter in last night's game, Keene was besides herself with the mere thought of it.

"That would be great; that would be something. I didn't even dreamt of becoming a national player, so being able to even play a minute on the field would be amazing," she said Wednesday night in the lobby of the Ramada Plaza, the teams' hotel just on the outskirts of the city of San Jose.

She says now that she is here, she is ready to do her best in fitting into the team.

"We really need to play together so we can gel... I have never played with them before and I'm really looking to start working together," she noted.

As a striker, Keene says her style of play is "unselfish", but if given a chance at goal, "I will really take it".

She has had so many goals for Florida Rush she does not even bother to count them.

"I'm not sure how many goals I scored because we really don't tally that up, but I have scored some," she ended.

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