THERE is a reason football is called ‘the beautiful game’. Conversely, the display by the Reggae Boyz against Antigua and Barbuda last Wednesday does not, in the least, qualify.

Coined by the Brazilians at the height of their artistic prowess, the concept derives its meaning from the free-flowing flair that characterised their game — a performance pleasing to the eye and steeped in the fine art of entertainment.

Of course, the Jamaicans are a far cry from these illustrious South Americans of yesteryear. Heroes in their own right after qualifying for a World Cup Final in 1998, the current Reggae Boyz outfit, on the other hand, lacks the ability to practically express themselves on the pitch, despite the theoretical instructions which the coaching staff may have engaged them in.

I have long argued that amidst the complex discourses of systems and strategies, modern football is perhaps ‘over-intellectualised’. Consequently, experts and players alike tend to lose focus of the essence of the sport. In fact, the average player is hardly thus inclined, much preferring to get on with the game. As such, I maintain that any knowledge gleaned by players from these lavish forays is to be seriously questioned.

The objective of football is to score goals, which, if shots on goal are considered, our players have clearly forgotten. After all, by what other means can a team win a match? The process of attacking and defending are thus means to an end, with the final score proof of how effective these have been executed.

Unquestionably, a team needs a game plan, which in large measure is determined by the players at its disposal, plus the opponent and the context of the encounter, including the playing conditions. Further, players must understand their roles — both individual and collective — within the team, which is as fundamental as physical skills.

In relating all this to the Antigua game and Jamaica’s inept display, it was interesting just to hear the feedback from the head coach and some of the players involved. In a general sense, they seemed to take comfort in surmounting the challenges of the hard playing surface with a cricket pitch in the middle that debilitated against passing and general composure.

Further, I interpreted the consensus as a restrained satisfaction with the point gleaned from a goalless away encounter that saw us maintaining joint leadership of this CONCACAF semi-final qualifying group, along with the United States.

However, the truth is that we were expected to win by whatever means necessary, and have thus been considerably set back.

With Guatemala holding the USA to a surprising draw at home, the stage is, therefore, set for an intriguing battle to see which two teams will advance to the Final Six phase, which will also comprise the top two nations from the other two zones that are being concurrently contested.

Also, if I’m not mistaken, it was announced somewhere in the local media that Jamaica had commissioned a scout for the USA-Antigua game to assess their strengths and weaknesses, thus enabling the technical team to devise an appropriate strategy against our Caribbean counterparts.

The extent to which this scouting mission was a success is debatable, but my observations are that we were stunned by a robust Antigua team with a slew of foreign-based players who used their physical strength to nullify our pregame strategies and aspirations.

Much bigger than the Reggae Boyz, they were faster to the ball and though lacking in attacking imagination and finesse, came close on a few occasions — enough to cause a flutter or two within the Jamaican camp.

What I also witnessed from my virtual perspective was a very small field that must have barely met the minimum requirements, according to the laws of the game. Indeed, there was little space between the touchline and the 18-yard box, which neutralised our natural style of passing down the flanks to speedy forwards Luton Shelton and Dane Richards.

Interestingly, in terms of dimensions, the National Stadium is just a shade superior, which in fact, has triggered mutterings from CONCACAF rivals in the past. The irony of this is that based on the aforementioned, there’s really no advantage playing at The Office as it stymies the natural tendencies of our strikers, who often run out of space.

There is a distinct difference, however, when we play at venues in the United States which usually have much larger fields to encourage the athleticism of our players, who definitely love to run.

A case in point is at last year’s Gold Cup tournament, which was arguably our most impressive showing at a major tournament, where we were clearly the most impressive outfit up to the semi-final stage. All this was facilitated by large playing areas which allowed the Boyz room to express themselves while maintaining their shape, thus heralding Theodore Whitmore as a coaching wizard.

With so much talk about a Jamaican football philosophy, it is time that we facilitate this process by providing the physical conditions, including smooth and grassy pitches that will encourage the harnessing of proper skills and habits. Indeed, it has become rather embarrassing to see the first touch of local-bred players being an ungainly scoop in the air, which does little to enhance accuracy and control.

Finally, it is early days yet in the qualifying series, with the form books suggesting that the Reggae Boyz will advance. Recent results, however, indicate it could be a dogfight to the end. For, having scored against the mighty USA and holding us to a draw, Antigua and Barbuda are not in it merely for the ride.

Guatemala, meanwhile, have every right to believe their two remaining home matches, including one against the Reggae Boyz, will end in victories.