IF ever Reggae Girlz Head Coach Hue Menzies required a platform to intensify preparations going forward, he would have received it when his World Cup-bound team completed a sweep of Chile in their friendly international series.

Menzies lauded the strong display by his team in registering a 3-2 win over the South Americans inside Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall on Sunday, to complete the double after their 1-0 win in the opening game at the National Stadium last Thursday.

The prolific Khadija “Bunny” Shaw scored a brace in the 23rd and 32nd minutes to give the Jamaicans a 2-1 lead at half-time after Maria Jose Rojas’s 21st-minute strike for Chile stunned the large crowd.

Karen Araya restored parity for Chile in the 58th minute before 16-year-old substitute Jody Brown found the winner for the Reggae Girlz in the 76th.

While Shaw and Brown got on the score sheet, Menzies believed Deneisha “Den Den” Blackwood, who held down the left back position and supplied the assist for the winning strike, was the standout player of the night.

“Bunny got a couple of goals and Jody also scored a goal, but I thought “Den Den” was the player of the match. They (Chile) have a potent offence and they came on the left side against “Den Den” every time and she just held her ground and played an excellent game for us.

“We have some special players that make a lot of difference and that’s why we put them in the game to go in and be special and I thank God I have them,” Menzies told journalists at a post-game conference.

Like it was in Kingston last Thursday, the game started at a decent pace with the 38th-ranked Chile signalling early intentions with two warning shots through Jose Rojas and Lara in the second and sixth minutes.

The dangerous Shaw made her presence felt soon after and it took three defenders to thwart her break down the right channel in the seventh minute and a recovering defender to clear her shot off the line two minutes later, as the Jamaicans orchestrated a good passage of play.

However, the technically efficient Chileans were more dominant in possession and opened the scoring when Rosario Balmaceda rushed down the left channel and played in a cross for Jose Rojas to calmly tap in.

Jamaica’s athletic ability and flair propelled them back on level terms as Shaw waltz away from two defenders before firing past Natalia Campos.

The 53rd-ranked Reggae Girlz went in front nine minutes later when Blackwood orchestrated a good build-up from the back that allowed Kayla McCoy to send the towering Shaw on her way to complete her brace with a comfortable finish.

Chile again started strongly on the resumption and it took them a mere 13 minutes to find the equaliser courtesy of a delightful strike off the right boot of Araya from approximately 30 yards, leaving custodian Nicole McClure no chance.

Though the goal gave the Chileans some momentum, it quickly shifted in favour of the Jamaicans with the introduction of Chantelle Swaby and Havana Solaun, who injected tempo to the attacking front.

But they had to wait until the 76th minute to find the go-ahead goal through Brown, who replaced another substitute Sashana Campbell after she was forced off with a hamstring injury.

The diminutive Brown entered the contest to deafening cheers in the 71st minute and was on hand at the far post to tap in a wicked left-sided cross from Blackwood to send the crowd into a frenzy.

“I thought the younger Swaby [Chantelle] came in and did well also and Havana Solaun changed the game for us at the number 10 spot. (She was) very good on the ball and acted like a pro and that is what we want for our pro players to step up and be pros.

“That just tells you the depth of our pool and we have tough decisions to make, but we feel like we have a good group to start with,” said Menzies, whose objective was to lock in on 14 to 16 players for the final 23-member squad for this summer’s Fifa Women’s World Cup in France.

Teams: Jamaica — Nicole McClure, Cachet Lue, Konya Plummer, Christina Chang (Chanel Hudson-Marks 70th), Cheyna Matthews (Havana Solaun 46th), Marlo Sweatman (Chantelle Swaby 64th), Khadija Shaw, Deneisha Blackwood, Giselle Washington, Kayla McCoy (Sashana Campbell 46th, Jody Brown 71st), Tiffany Cameron (Olufolasade Adamolekun 79th)

Subs not used: Chris-Ann Chambers, Sydney Schneider, Dominique Bond-Flasza, Chinyelu Asher, Laura Jackson, Allyson Swaby

Booked: Blackwood (60th), Shaw (62nd), Brown (75th)

Chile — Natalia Campos, Valentina Diaz, Ambar Soruco, Maria Cristina Julio (Daniela Pardo 46th, Claudia Soto 90th+5), Javiera Toro, Yesenia Lopez, Karen Araya, Francisca Lara (Ana Gutierrez 70th), Maria Jose Rojas (Barbara Santibanez 59th), Yanara Aedo, Rosario Balmaceda

Subs not used: Christiane Endler, Javiera Grez, Camila Saez, Yessenia Huenteo, Daniela Zamora, Maryorie Hernandez

Booked: Pardo (66th)

Referee: Crystal Sobers (TRI)

Assistant referees: Deean Foster (CAY); Ojay Duhaney (JAM)

Fourth official: Odette Hamilton (JAM)

Match Commissary: Ewan Scott