Good coaches will often find a positive spin regardless of the situation.

However, in fairness to an upbeat Reggae Boyz coach Mr Winfried Schaefer, his team did not lose to CONCACAF semi-final round Group B leaders Costa Rica in the National Stadium on Friday night.

Before a near-capacity crowd Jamaica’s national team came away from the game with a 1-1 draw. That represented a valuable point at the halfway stage of the campaign to reach the final qualifying round of six teams aiming for a place at the FIFA World Cup in Russia come 2018.

When viewed in that light, Mr Schaefer’s comment that “Costa Rica is one of the best teams in CONCACAF and, in the end, 1-1 is okay,” seems reasonable.

The trouble, though, is that with only one remaining home game left in the semi-final round of qualifiers, Jamaica have done poorly in the drive to garner points on home soil, before their own fans.

It is conventional wisdom that all teams should be at their best at home. In World Cup qualifying, and indeed any such home-and-away campaign, the aim always is to win at home and at the very least draw away, which is exactly what Costa Rica have done so far. But having lost at home to Panama late last year, Friday night’s 1-1 tie means the Jamaicans have gained just one home point from a possible six so far.

In the circumstances, Jamaicans are thankful that following the demoralising loss to Panama in Kingston last November, the Reggae Boyz rebounded a few days later to beat Haiti 1-0 in Port-au-Prince.

Having backed themselves against the wall, they need now to make winning away from home a consistent trend. Ideally, they must create history by winning in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Tuesday night — a feat no Jamaican senior national team has ever achieved. The hope will also be that, at the same time, Panama will stumble against Haiti in Panama City.

Then on September 2, 2016, the Jamaicans must seek to turn the tables on Panama in Panama City. Four days later, the Boyz will host their only remaining home game in the semi-final round of CONCACAF qualifiers — against Haiti.

It’s useful to point out here that just the top two teams from the group will make it to the final qualifying round of six CONCACAF teams. Top two teams from Group A and Group C will complete the six teams for the final CONCACAF qualifying campaign which begins later this year.

As the situation now stands, Costa Rica are sitting pretty at the top of the semi-final Group B with seven points, Panama are second with four points, the same as Jamaica in third place. The Panamanians are ahead on the strength of goal difference having scored three times as against Jamaica’s two goals, and conceded two goals as against Jamaica’s three. The Haitians are at the bottom with a single point.

Depending on the results of Jamaica’s two remaining away games against Costa Rica on Tuesday night and Panama on September 2, the September 6 home game against Haiti will either be a highly anticipated affair with the National Stadium crammed to the rafters, or a sad swansong to the World Cup qualifying campaign before a mostly empty stadium.

We can only wish the Reggae Boyz well.