SAN DIEGO, California — Darren Mattocks ended the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament on a high with goals in the semi-final and the final.

Now the most experienced striker in Jamaica’s 23-man roster, the Portland Timbers man is hoping to continue from where he left off by leading the Reggae Boyz as far as possible in this year’s edition of the confederation’s premier football tournament.

“It is always a great feeling when you get the chance to represent your country. It is the highest level and I think any player looks forward to representing their national team, so it is a really great feeling,” Mattocks shared with the Jamaica Observer from the team’s Hilton San Diego Mission Valley hotel yesterday.

Two years ago Mattocks, who has 12 goals in 31 appearances for Jamaica, registered a critical strike in the Reggae Boyz’ historic 2-1 victory over hosts the USA, as well as the consolation strike in the 1-3 loss to Mexico in the team’s first- ever appearance in the Gold Cup final.

The 26-year-old is under no illusions and is well aware of the difficulty this squad faces if it is to repeat the feat of two years ago.

“I think there was a bit more experience with the last unit; I think those players were far more matured, more seasoned and we were playing together before, so we knew we had the talent to get the job done. We had more veterans and we were more confident in going all the way,” reasoned Mattocks.

“With this team there are more local-based players, more young players, which is good because there is a mixture, and sometimes I look at it with a positive perspective because it is a different vibration and we are banking on that to go wherever it takes us,” he reiterated.

Under German coach Winfried Schaefer, Mattocks was forced to come off the bench at the 2015 rendition of the Gold Cup, but with the level of inexperience that resides in this current pool of players, he’s very much looking to lead the front-line with goals which he hopes will take the team past the group phase.

“With experience comes maturity and I think most of the younger guys who haven’t been around in these big tournaments they look to seasoned veterans, I’m still 26 and I still believe I’m fairly young, but with experience I think the younger players look to players like me who have been around for guidance, so it is going to be good and you have to lead on the field with your performance and off the field by doing things properly,” said the former Waterhouse FC forward.

Mattocks, who won the 2010 College Cup with the University of Akron, believes that there is enough quality in this group to at least get to the second round, from where anything is possible on a given day.

“Definitely, I’m expecting to get out of the group — nothing less for me is good enough. I hold myself to the highest standard and I hold this group to the highest standard as well,” Mattocks said.

After ending the 2015 tournament on a high, Mattocks has had a fairly wretched season and a half at club level battling injuries, especially after being traded from his long-time Canadian outfit, the Vancouver Whitecaps, to Portland Timbers in March 2016. He says he’s now back to full fitness and is ready and raring to go.

“I have been battling with playing time as I just came off a hamstring injury which doesn’t help, but that aside, my playing has been pretty well… but in the national set-up it is totally different because I am the go-to one for sure here. I think people are looking to me to get the bulk of the goals for the team and it is a job that I embrace,” he noted.

“I am fit, physically 100 per cent, and I think “Tappa” (Reggae Boyz head coach) did a fantastic job with the one-week camp in Jamaica, as it was physically demanding.” Mattocks added.

The former Bridgeport High School Manning Cupper revealed that within a couple weeks of being traded to Portland Timbers he picked up a hamstring injury followed by right knee injury, which required surgery, then another hamstring injury followed.

A few weeks ago the Reggae Boyz, void of Major League Soccer players, were beaten 2-1 by Curacao in the CFU Caribbean Cup final in Martinique, and today they come face to face again with Whitmore’s charges in the opening Group C contest inside the Qualcomm Stadium here in San Diego at 4:00 pm (6:00 pm Jamaica time).

But Mattocks is expecting a different result this time around.

“This first game is very important as we need to get three points. It is not detrimental if we don’t, but our sights are set on three points because it sets us up in what we need to do in the other two games to get out of the group stage,” he ended.

— Ian Burnett