JAMAICA’S Under-20 goalkeeper coach, Andrew Sewell says while the nervy 2-1 victory over nine-man Haiti at the Concacaf Championship on Sunday was far from their finest display, they poured out plenty of desire and determination to get over the line.

Jahmari Clarke got the opening goal for the young Reggae Boyz in the fourth minute of the round-of-16 contest at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

But though down to 10 players after Captain Fernando Ciceron was red-carded in the 25th minute, the slick-moving Haitians equalised in the 50th through the impressive Steevenson Jeudy.

Haiti went down to nine players in minute 75 when Dukens Pierre, who was initially cautioned in the 37th, was sent off after he was shown a second yellow card.

The Jamaicans, guided by Head Coach Marcel Gayle, capitalised not long after, with Tarick Ximinies grabbing the winner in the 83rd minute.

“The game was tough because some of the guys were kind of nervous and tense, even when Haiti went down to nine men,” Sewell told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

“The coach’s instructions were to keep the ball and pass the ball around, but the players were so eager that they started to play out of character. It wasn’t our best performance but at this stage of the competition the result is what matters, and we got the victory,” the goalkeeper coach said.

However, he suggested a better showing is on the cards as they prepare for quarter-final opponents, Dominican Republic, on Wednesday.

“Anything that needs to be fixed, we have only two days to fix,” Sewell said.

“Our opponents are going to be Dominican Republic and we sat down as a team and watched their game [versus El Salvador] and saw some of their weaknesses and strengths, so we just have to go prepare for those,” he noted.

In the other quarter-finals, defending champions United States are up against Costa Rica, Panama face hosts Honduras, and 13-time regional Under-20 champions Mexico are pitted next to Guatemala.

The four teams which advance to the semi-finals will book a spot to the Fifa Men’s Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia next year.

The finalists will also secure qualification to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.

As Jamaica grapples with widespread acts of violent crime on a daily basis, Sewell said players and staff, hunting the country’s second berth at an Under-20 World Cup after previously qualifying for the 2001 showpiece, are motivated to progress and lift the spirit of the nation.

“The victory [against Haiti] is massive and is a good thing for the country right now, based on the violence right now in Jamaica. We are using it as motivation to bring some form of joy back to Jamaica. We are playing for everyone in Jamaica and in the Diaspora,” he told the Observer.

— Sanjay Myers