On the heels of calling for improvements from his senior Reggae Girlz after their 1-0 win in the opening contest, Head Coach Lorne Donaldson got the exact opposite, as his team meekly surrendered bragging rights in the second friendly international contest against Paraguay at the National Stadium on Sunday.

Though he viewed some positives in the 1-2 defeat to the South Americans, which was the Reggae Girlz’s first loss on home soil in a long spell, Donaldson says it is imperative that players step up, especially with a possible high-profile friendly in the pipeline for the next window in February.

“The expectation going forward is for players to know that when they come into camp they are to come in with the right frame of mind, knowing that we are looking to finalise our roster. We’ve got to be on our toes in every area of the game, we’ve got to be on top of it,” Donaldson told the Jamaica Observer.

“There is a possibility that we might go to Australia to play in the next window. I can’t disclose the opponents because we don’t know who we will play as yet, but we might be in a tournament. So players have to get stuff right on the pitch and bring the right physicality and mental edge,” he added.

Having made a number of changes to the squad that won the first game at the Montego Bay Sports Complex last Thursday, Donaldson was less than impressed with the team’s showing inside the National Stadium on Sunday.

Celsa Sandoval (16th minute) and Ramona Martinez (35th) got on the cards for the 51st-ranked Paraguayans, while Captain Khadija “Bunny” Shaw (61st) pulled one back for the 42nd-ranked Girlz from the penalty spot.

While the handy victory should do Paraguay’s confidence a world of good heading into February’s intercontinental play-offs where they hunt a maiden World Cup showing, for Donaldson the assessment to select his best 23 to next year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand continues.

The Girlz, who were playing at home for the first time since achieving a second-consecutive qualification, are drawn in group F alongside France and Brazil for the July 20 to August 20 global showpiece. Their other opponent will come from February’s intercontinental play-offs.

“They knew the intention and what was required going in and they just didn’t executed how we expected. They gave up a couple bad goals but could have scored a few goals themselves, so it wasn’t our best football but it was more a case of them not putting away their chances.

“I think they’re relying too much on Bunny [for goals] and because with Jody [Brown] and Trudi [Carter] were not here, someone needed to step up, take the initiative and put away some chances. But it didn’t happen,” Donaldson assessed.

Finishing aside, the Jamaicans were a bit lacklustre in their approach and struggled to find rhythm both at the back and in their transition, as there was a clear disconnect between the midfield and attack.

This Donaldson attributed to complacency.

“I thought we came out overconfident and flat and when that happens, you won’t be successful. So they will learn that you can’t just show up and win because Paraguay was out to achieve something ahead of their qualifiers and so they came all guns blazing.

“I am hoping it will be the same for us when it comes down to the last part of our preparation and everybody will try to get in the squad. Paraguay realised that we are assessing players and they gave it everything to win, so it is just one of those things that we have to live with and learn from,” the tactician noted.

That said, Donaldson pointed out that hosting a mini-camp next month or in January is one avenue he is currently exploring to address some of their flaws. Should it be made possible, it would involve unattached and university players, among others, to further assess their readiness.

“Our college players weren’t here so it would be nice to get a camp somewhere in December or to get them in. Even Malikae [Dayes], I like her, we threw her into the fire and I think there is some potential that we have to look at,” said Donaldson, who was an assistant when the Girlz appeared at the 2019 World Cup in France.

“So, hopefully we can bring some players in a camp like that where we can actually do some coaching because come the February camp, we just want to prepare for battle in a different way without looking at a lot of players. Maybe we will still be looking at one or two players, but we want to make sure that our front line players are playing,” the former national player ended.