HOUSTON, Texas — Reggae Boyz Captain Andre Blake believes that his side found it difficult to break down El Salvador’s defensive strategy for much of the game which ended 0-0 inside BBVA Stadium here on Friday evening.

The Jamaicans failed to connect on passes in the offensive third and did not register a shot on target in the first half, as the Central Americans got bodies behind the ball at every opportunity, or created a deliberate foul whenever the Jamaicans recaptured possession.

“First half we were a little bit tentative because they were sitting back and we were playing the safe passes, square and back, and in times like those you are going to need to take more risks to break the lines, and it’s about trusting the player to believe that when you give that ball to him just move, and he will take care of it and get it back to you,” Blake told the Jamaica Observer.

He added: “At half time we spoke about that we realised that we were going to have to trust each other a little bit more, and we were going to have to take more risks, and we all have to be confident in what we were doing at all times, and I think that helped us in the second half.”

Jamaica were much the better team in the second 45 minutes, especially after the introduction of strikers Shamar Nicholson and Darren Mattocks for Brian Brown and Dever Orgill, respectively.

But though Blake and his team would have preferred a better result, he was satisfied that they didn’t lose the game and still have their destiny in their own hands.

“Obviously we would have wanted three points to secure our spot in the next round, but it’s football and they came out to sit back and play on the counter and sometimes it’s tough to play in games like those when they are getting everybody behind the ball, and it’s hard to break them down in situations like those.

“In times like those we have to try and get a goal off a restart or something, and unfortunately on the night we weren’t able to get a goal, but the good thing is we did not concede a goal, so still a positive result and we just have to learn from it and move on, as the aim is always to get better as the tournament goes on.”

The game was played in hot and humid conditions, 88 degrees Fahrenheit, feeling like 99 degrees Fehrenheit, but Blake was not prepared to use the weather as an excuse for the team’s lack of creativity in the first half.

“It was hot, it was humid, Jamaica was hot just the same, but both teams were playing in the same conditions, so I’m not going to say that’s the reason for anything. Obviously we wished it would have been a little cooler, but that was not the case and we have to learn to deal with different weather conditions and I don’t think we looked as tired as we did in the game in Jamaica, so we dealt with it.”

— Ian Burnett