Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz played their second game of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup against Guadeloupe.

It was a very scrappy game where the Jamaicans went down 1 nil to an Amari’i Bell own goal and struggled to find their rhythm but, in the end, were able to come from behind with a 2-1 win courtesy of goals from Cory Burke and Junior Flemmings.

Here are my player ratings for the Jamaicans. I’m Nicholas Stewart, football coach.

Coach Whitmore: 6.5 – His substitutions made a big difference in the overall play in the second half and the Reggae Boyz were able to get the win eventually.

Andre Blake: 8 – Arguably our best player on the night, Blake had an outstanding game in goal. He made some very good saves and again commanded his area very well.

Liam Moore: 6.5 – Another solid performance from the defender shaping up to be a good addition to the boys. 

Damion Lowe: 6.5 – Had much more work to do but acquitted himself very well.

Amari’i Bell: 5 – Another disappointing performance, was credited with an own goal.   

Alvas Powell: 5 – Had a very ordinary game at right back.

Daniel Johnson: 6 – Had another decent game however sometimes he seemed unsure about his passes.

Michael Hector: 5 – He played with very low energy and contributed nothing much to the game. However, his height proved useful in certain phases.           

Blair Turgott: 5.5 – He contributed very little in this game, much more was expected especially from his output from our first game.

Leon Bailey: 5.5 – For a player we are looking to lead us in attack, he has had two below par performances so far with this being the worst one. However, we hope his quality will come to the forefront soon. 

Cory Burke: 7- Gets credit for his well taken goal and his defensive work helping out in set pieces, however, service to him could have been better.

Shamar Nicholson: 5- He had a very poor game given what he produced in the first game and missed an easy chance for us to go ahead. 

Subs

Junior Flemmings: 7- He came on and added energy, was very direct in his style of play, put the Guadeloupe defenders on the back foot and scored an excellent goal.           

Devon Williams: 6- Brought much needed energy and direction to the midfield.             

Kemar Lawrence: 6- Another substitute that came on and made a difference with much better passing of the ball and showed his experience.                         

Andre Gray: N/A – He wasn’t on the field long enough to fully assess, but showed that he could do with some more time  and should have put Jamaica 3-1 up when he got the better of a defender and brought out a save from the goal keeper.     

Nicholas Stewart is a KSAFA Major League winning coach and two-time ‘Coach of the Year’. In a career spanning more than two decades, he has coached Olympic Gardens FC, Allman/Woodford, Pembroke Hall and Camperdown High among other teams.