It wasn’t the result that he wanted but interim Head Coach Paul Hall was unmistakably pumped after Jamaica ended 1-1 against El Salvador in Thursday evening’s World Cup qualifier inside the National Stadium.

Eriq Zavaleta’s header gave El Salvador a first-half lead, but the hosts, who noticeably did not rely heavily on long, aerial passes throughout the full 90 minutes, took the game to the Central Americans, and equalised through Andre Gray’s close-range finish.

And if not for faulty shooting, the Reggae Boyz would have won the game to claim their first victory at home in this final-round campaign and a maiden triumph for Hall since he took over from Theodore Whitmore last December.

“The only thing missing was the actual winning goal, that’s the only thing that was missing,” Hall said during a post-match interview.

“I’m pleased because they owed the crowd that performance and they owed us all that performance. They dominated El Salvador, which is a Central American team who usually dominate football matches.

“That’s how you play football, that’s how you play football. We dominated them, and we literally dominated the game. You can see the style of play, the lads got the ball down and were brave,” he said.

In the first half, winger Leon Bailey, who worried the Hugo Perez-coached Salvadorans all evening, missed a chance to score when he was one-on-one with goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez. Later in the half, Ravel Morrison, a constant creative force in midfield, hit the upright with a shot from outside the 18-yard box.

Jamaica got even more openings in the second period, the most glaring one falling to Gray who booted high when an incisive exchange with Morrison put the forward face to face with Gonzalez. Defender Damion Lowe also had a late opportunity but his effort was pushed wide by Gonzalez.

“I’m actually delighted for them more for the performance. I’m a bit gutted for them because we could have scored more. We hit the post, we had scrambles, we had people around the box [and] I just hope this gives them the confidence to push on,” Hall reiterated.

The fifth draw of the final round for the out-of-contention Reggae Boyz kept them seventh in the eight-team standings with eight points from 12 matches.

El Salvador, who also have no chance of reaching the 2022 Fifa World Cup finals, are sixth with 10 points.

Hall, a member of the Jamaica squad which qualified for the France 1998 World Cup, said the display bodes well for the future.

“This is the start of something. We’re rebuilding something, and as you can see there are a lot of kids in there, but there are a lot of older guys in there who are going to take them along and make sure they’re playing football the right way,” Hall, who has repeatedly indicated he wants the coaching job on a full-time arrangement, told journalists.

“You got lots of people on the pitch willing to take responsibility and you’ve also got people on the bench ready to come on. Every man did his job tonight and I’m just a little bit sorry for them because they didn’t get the three points,” he added.

After the late matches on Thursday, Canada remain top of the eight-team standing with 25 points despite losing 0-1 away to Costa Rica (19), with the Central Americans moving up to fourth.

Second-placed United States (22 points), who drew nil-all on their visit to third-placed Mexico, are only separated from their Spanish-speaking neighbours to the south due to a superior goal difference.

Last-placed Honduras (four points) slowed Panama’s progress in a 1-1 result in Panama City, which saw the latter falling to fifth on 18 points.

Only the top three countries from the region are assured of a place to the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The fourth-place team will have the chance for another spot via an intercontinental play-off.

Jamaica’s squad was scheduled to arrive in Toronto in two groups on Friday evening ahead of their penultimate octagonal match against hosts Canada on Sunday.

CONCACAF WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Thursday’s results

Jamaica 1, El Salvador 1

Panama 1, Honduras 1

Mexico 0, United States 0

Costa Rica 1, Canada 0

Points Standing

Teams P W D L Gf Ga Gd Pts

Canada 12 7 4 1 19 6 13 25

USA 12 6 4 2 16 7 9 22

Mexico 12 6 4 2 14 8 6 22

Costa Rica 12 5 4 3 9 7 2 19

Panama 12 5 3 4 15 14 1 18

El Salvador 12 2 4 6 7 14 -7 10

Jamaica 12 1 5 6 10 17 -7 8

Honduras 12 0 4 8 6 23 -17 4