NAGOYA, Japan — Reading FC defender and Captain Liam Moore says there “are lots of positives” to take away from Jamaica’s 1-1 tie with Serbia in Kobe on Monday.

In the friendly international at Miki Athletic Stadium, Moore reasoned that the first 45 minutes of the match unveiled the team’s potential for doing great things down the road.

“All things considered, we have to be pleased as there are a lot of positives. I would like to say that the first half should be fundamental for us moving forward.

“It [the performance] showed what Jamaica should be about – and that’s power, strength, speed and, as you can see, the technical side improving with every game. With a few more additions to come, there is a lot to be excited about,” said the 28-year-old.

Moore, the former Leicester City man, said the delivery against Serbia was a demonstration of the character of the team, considering the squad only came together a few days before the kick-off.

Not only that, he pointed to the contingent being restricted to an oppressive pandemic bubble since arriving in Japan, which has potentially impacted the psyche of players. For him, the players deserved praise for shaking that off and delivering on the day of the match.

“With everything considered, it’s a good enough result…it’s a good team [effort] as we have been together for a short space of time; there was a lot of travelling involved in that.

“It’s also difficult that we are stuck in our rooms…all the movement is that we eat, go to our rooms, or we leave our rooms and go train. But as professional athletes that’s difficult as we are used to being out and about and generally being more active,” Moore told the Jamaica Observer.

Going back to the game, he said the Boyz were forced to give up territory in the second half following a command performance in the first due to a few factors.

“Firstly, they [Serbia] changed their shape and we needed to have adapted to that quicker. And on top of that, there might have been some fatigue — and again that may come from being in the room all of the time.

“Also, a lot of the UK-based players’ seasons finished a few weeks ago so they had to get the legs going again, plus there was the heat,” Moore argued.

He made it clear that he was not making excuses but simply stating some facts that may have impacted players not being at their optimum.

But Moore further offered that these issues could be valuable teaching moments as the Boyz look to the Concacaf Gold Cup and World Cup qualification tournaments.

“These are not excuses as these are points we need to work on if we want to be successful at the Gold Cup and moving forward. We have to realise that COVID is not going anywhere soon and it’s going to be very hot there [in USA], so these are things we need to work on as opposed to being excuses,” he concluded.