Young Boyz seek two-in-a-row
TUCVILLE, Guyana — Jamaica will aim for successive victories when they face the US Virgin Islands at 5:00 pm local time in an Under-20 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Group C Qualifier at the Guyana National Stadium today.
Though the Young Reggae Boyz started with a 6-1 demolition of Grenada on Wednesday, coach Wendell Downswell told the Observer at yesterday’s training session that he has cautioned the players against complacency.
“There are things we saw in the (first) game that we’re doing some work on. There’s no room for complacency because the three games in this competition are like cup finals, so despite the opposition, we’re approaching this match as if we’re playing against a (high) quality team,” he said.
Downswell said he was satisfied with the intensity shown by the players at their training venue, which is home to one of the local club teams here.
“It has gone pretty well and it’s probably one of the better sessions we have had. We’re working on some movement and tactical work and they’ve grasped it readily and our intention is to improve on our performance, despite the fact that we won 6-1,” Downswell added.
One change expected from Wednesday is Kemar Lawrence for Ackeemo Palmer at left-back. Team doctor Martin Garwood has recommended to the coaching staff that Palmer rests his injured left hamstring.
Speaking just before the training session, US Virgin Islands’ coach Leonard Appleton conceded his outfit would be hard-pressed to stop Jamaica’s formidable attack.
“From the get go, I’ve said that we’re the underdogs, but seeing the performance of the Jamaicans yesterday (Wednesday), I have to say we have a very uphill battle to face them.
“The preparation of the Jamaicans was a lot stronger than ours, but we’ve made some adjustment and we’re hoping we can contain the outside (wide) play of the Jamaicans. We are also playing for pride, so we want to be competitive,” he said.
After being down 2-1 to hosts Guyana at half-time, US VI lost their defensive shape in the second half and were pummelled 5-1.
In the second match of today’s double-header, Guyana tackle Grenada at 7:00 pm.
