ORLANDO, USA – Reggae Boyz Captain Andre Blake said he did not expect his team to deliver the “perfect” performance in their first game of the Concacaf Gold Cup but noted that the main objective was achieved.

Jamaica, in their 2-0 win over Suriname in the opening Group C encounter at Exploria Stadium on Monday night, were not dominant and clinical in the execution.

For one, the Boyz spurned many goal-scoring chances, plus they surrendered their first-half control to the Surinamese in the second stanza.

But Blake, the Philadelphia Union goalkeeper, said what unfolded, though not desired, was no surprise when all factors are taken into consideration.

“It was good [to win], but I had said to the boys before the opening whistle that I don’t expect it [performance] to be perfect and it was not going to be pretty.

“All I said to them is to just win the game, and we could always go back and analyse the film and see what needs to be better. I think we can improve defensively, our shape and when we are pressing,” said Blake.

The 30-year-old, Jamaica’s first-choice goalie since making his debut back in 2014, reasoned that with several new players joining the setup it will take some time for cohesion to be evident in play.

“There are some new guys in the system, so it is going to take a bit of time for us to be on the same page, so for the first game this was expected, but the most important thing is that we won,” noted Blake.

Meanwhile, wide midfielder Blair Turgott, in his third game for his country, thinks overall it was

“a good performance”.

“The most important thing in tournament football is to win the first game. We got off to a good start, we scored early, which was good…but there are always things you can improve on, but I think there were a lot of positives,” said the Norway-based player.

The British-born Turgott, who is one of the newcomers Blake referred to, agreed with the common view that it was not the complete rendition.

“Obviously, we were protecting a 2-0 lead and obviously they had to come out and try and score and get back into the game.

“As I said, there are a lot of things we can improve on, but the main objective today [Monday] was to try and win the game, and we did that,” Turgott ended.

On target for Jamaica were Shamar Nicholson (sixth minute) and Bobby Reid (26th).

The Boyz will next face Guadeloupe on Friday at Exploria Stadium, while Costa Rica take on Suriname.

Costa Rica lead the group on goal difference over Jamaica after their 3-1 victory over Guadeloupe, also on Monday night.

— Sean Williams