There were hopes that it would be second time lucky for the senior Reggae Boyz in their second-consecutive final at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, but it was not to be.

Despite failing to take the major slice of the cake in a 1-2 loss to host United States on Wednesday, Head coach Theodore Whitmore and his team have come in for praise from far and wide for their surprise run to the Gold Cup championship game.

A number of local commentators are now lauding Whitmore and his troops for a stellar and gutsy display given the circumstances, but more importantly, they described the feat as a platform on which Jamaica’s football can build.

Rohn Rainford, club administrator of Portmore United, saluted the team which included three of his club’s representatives — Ewan Grandison, Michael Binns and Ricardo Morris.

“From my perspective, I think we managed a lot of the different scenarios well; I am very pleased with the performance against Mexico and Canada, and I think we were a bit unfortunate to lose our number one goalkeeper in the final.

“But we acquitted ourselves well and we really needed this. I am hoping this will be a launching pad for further improvement in future tournaments. I think the coaches got the tactics right, but if we can now turn our style into a counter-attacking style with the pace that we have up top, I think that we can be a force to reckon with in the region again,” Rainford told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

“But overall, a decent tournament; I think we did well and I am happy for the local- based players along with the number of professional players in the MLS and playing in the USL, which is semi-pro. It is good that these players can put together solid performances in a tournament format and so I hope we can use this as a launching pad for the future,” he added.

Meanwhile, Andrew Edwards, head coach of the National Under-17 male team, echoed similar sentiments.

“The team did a very good job to get to the final with what most people would consider a below-par team, and that is an amazing achievement. Yes, it (the team) lacked experience in many areas of the pitch, but there was nothing below par about the team.

“I thought we did well and what was most impressive was the level of growth shown throughout the tournament. It was very good to see the kind of defensive discipline that we put in, which suggests that the capacity is there for growth, and that is something that we have to take heart from and move forward with,” said Edwards in his analysis.

He continued: “I am extremely disappointed that we couldn’t have gone all the way, but a lot of things would have conspired against us, including losing Andre Blake, but overall I think the team did well and there is hope for the future.

“I hope that the powers that be will continue to give coach Whitmore the nod to continue the wonderful work that he has been doing, and I give credit to him and the staff for the achievement and we wish them all the best.”

— Sherdon Cowan